Taking steps to prevent heart disease will also reduce the risk of cancer
Research shows that not only do the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 steps reduce the risk of heart disease, but they also help prevent cancer.
For the study, 13,253 white and African-American men and women in the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study were interviewed and examined to determine which of the following Life’s Simple 7 factors they met or followed:
- Being physically active
- Keeping a healthy weight
- Eating a healthy diet
- Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
- Keeping blood pressure down
- Regulating blood sugar levels
- Not smoking
Two decades later, cancer registries and hospital records were reviewed, and researchers determined that 2880 of the study participants developed cancer (primarily lung, colon or rectal, prostate, or breast cancer).
Study results showed that the risk of cancer decreased by 51% among those who observed 6 or 7 of the factors compared with participants who followed none of the factors. Abiding by 4 factors resulted in a 33% cancer risk reduction, and meeting just 1 or 2 factors decreased risk by 21%.
“We were gratified to know adherence to the Life’s Simple 7 goals was also associated with reduced incidence of cancer,” said Laura J. Rasmussen-Torvik, an assistant professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and lead author of the study. “This can help health professionals provide a clear, consistent message about the most important things people can do to protect their health and lower their overall risk for chronic diseases.”
This research is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Source: American Heart Association.