What Causes Cancer? Interactive Chart Shows How Your Lifestyle Could Boost Cancer Risk | HuffPost Life

Interactive Chart Reveals Which Lifestyle Choices Could Cause Cancer

Natasha Hinde— The Huffington Post UK

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If you're worried that the amount of red meat you consume or the lack of exercise you get is affecting your health, read on.

Researchers have created an interactive body map, first published by The Conversation, showing how cancer risk correlates with certain lifestyle choices.

People are encouraged to select a lifestyle choice in the left-hand column, the chart then tells them which area of the body it affects and what kind of cancer it can cause.

The map pulls together scientific evidence from an array of scientific sources in order to link cancer risk to various lifestyle factors. Some of which include alcohol use, sun exposure and eating red meat.

The aim of the map is to encourage people to avoid the factors that could be increasing their risk in a bid to prevent cancer.

Authors note that it's important to bear in mind that every body and circumstance is unique.

"One risk factor cannot be considered in isolation when applied to a real life context," they said.

Credit
Emil Jeyaratnam, Multimedia Editor, The Conversation
Sasha Petrova, Researcher, Health and Medicine, The Conversation
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here.

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Lifestyle Risk Factors For Cancer

Smoking(01 of11)

It's no surprise smoking is the number one thing to avoid in order to prevent cancer. It's responsible for 30 per cent of all cancer deaths, and smoking can increase the risk of lung cancer, for example, by nine times. (credit:Hemera Technologies via Getty Images)

Secondhand Smoke(02 of11)

Even if you don't smoke, you can be affected by those around you. People who are near smoking are 1.4 times more likely to get lung cancer than others. (credit:CMSP via Getty Images)

Excess Body Weight(03 of11)

Not having a healthy body weight (defined generally as a BMI of lower than 25) can increase your risk for a variety of cancers, including esophageal, uterine, liver, kidney, pancreatic, breast and colorectal cancer. (credit:bowie15 via Getty Images)

How You Eat(04 of11)

It's a big yes for veggies and fruit, as well as fibre, but red and processed meat is what you want to avoid. While eating lots of fibre, for example, can help reduce colorectal cancer risk, eating the meats can increase it. (credit:Maximilian Stock Ltd. via Getty Images)

Drinking(05 of11)

Drinking any type of alcohol — at all — increases your risk for head/neck, esophageal, colorectal, breast and liver cancer (and potentially pancreatic too). You can decrease the risk by keeping your alcohol use confined to one drink a day for women, and two for men. (credit:Roy Mehta via Getty Images)

Physical Activity(06 of11)

Getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day is what you should be aiming for. Otherwise, you're at risk for colorectal cancer and could be setting yourself up for lung, uterine and breast cancer. (credit:Brent Winebrenner via Getty Images)

How Much You Sit(07 of11)

We've heard about many ways in which sitting is bad for your health, but this could be the scariest one. Sitting too much (which is different from having physical activity) can increase your risk for colorectal, uterine, ovarian and prostate cancer. (credit:Science Photo Library via Getty Images)

UV Radiation(08 of11)

Any type of tanning increases your risk for skin cancer — up to 64 per cent more for squamous cell carcinoma. (credit:Bruce Yuanyue Bi via Getty Images)

Viruses(09 of11)

Hepatitis B and HPV both increase the risk for cancer, but there are vaccines that can help prevent them. (credit:Martin Botvidsson via Getty Images)

Radon(10 of11)

The presence of radon gas is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer — test your home to see if it's there. (credit:Zirafek via Getty Images)

Hormones(11 of11)

This one is a double-edged sword. For women taking HRT post-menopause, it can increase the risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer, but may help decrease the risk for colorectal cancer. Birth control pills, meanwhile, have been associated with an increased risk for breast, cervical and liver cancer, but a decreased risk for uterine and ovarian cancer. If you're concerned, talk to your doctor about options. (credit:Stephan Zabel via Getty Images)

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