Our Cancer Prevention Recommendations as a package of behaviours

Evidence

Our research has reviewed the evidence of how dietary and lifestyle patterns impact breast and colorectal cancer risk. Our WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations were one of a number of Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns reviewed as part of CUP Global.

Dietary patterns are what, how much and how often we eat and drink. Dietary and lifestyle patterns combine these eating habits with other health-related behaviours, such as like physical activity, body weight and smoking. We looked at whole patterns of how people live and eat to understand how these behaviours interact together to impact cancer risk.

Many researchers from around the world have looked at how following to our Cancer Prevention Recommendations influences cancer risk.

> You can read more about this in our adherence section

In CUP Global, we review all the evidence published globally on how dietary and lifestyle patterns, like the WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations, are associated with risk of breast and colorectal cancers, and their subtypes.

There is strong evidence that following the WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations DECREASES risk of

• Breast cancer
• Colorectal cancer

There is also strong evidence that following our WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations DECREASES the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer and colon cancer.

There is limited, but suggestive, evidence of an association between following our WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations and a decreased risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer.

Together this evidence supports viewing the WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations not as individual behaviours in isolation, but as an overall package of behaviours that combines to promote a cancer preventative pattern.

When WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations were developed, it was emphasised that each of the recommendations are intended to work together and be adopted as a package of behaviours. Our more recent work supports the beneficial effects of following all the recommendations being additive.

> Read the recommendations chapter from the 2018 Third Expert Report

Read the published papers

> Breast Cancer and Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns paper

> Colorectal cancer and dietary and lifestyle patterns paper

 > Colorectal cancer and dietary patterns paper

The WCRF/AICR score was one of a number of Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns looked at in our report on dietary and lifestyle patterns and cancer risk.

To read more about the other patterns, read our report on Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns for cancer prevention in our resource library.

Implications for other diseases

WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations have benefits beyond cancer prevention.

For instance, research has found that WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations are associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Public health / policy implications

In many parts of the world, people are not following a healthy diet, have insufficient levels of physical activity and the rates of overweight and obesity are rising.

Government and society needs to work together to create environments for people and communities that promote healthy dietary and lifestyle patterns consistent with our Cancer Prevention Recommendations.

A comprehensive package of policies is needed to promote and support healthy dietary and lifestyle patterns.

Our Policy blueprint for cancer prevention details all the policy areas where governments must take action to create a healthy environment.

Policies, such as those which promote active travel or restrict marketing to encourage lower consumption of foods high in fat, salt and sugar can also help contribute to a sustainable ecological environment.

Policymakers are encouraged to frame specific goals and actions according to their national context.