Did you ever get an itch that you just couldn't scratch? Well, some how I got it in my head that some study was published recently linking lifestyle to cancer. Problem was, I couldn't find it! So I did my best imitation of the proverbial blind squirrel looking for a nut and finally found the
prospective multicenter study published earlier this spring in March in Circulation in which the authors concluded that
greater adherence to just seven habits of a healthy lifestyle was associated w/lower risk of cancer. If this sounds familiar, it's because
these same Life's Simple 7 habits were linked to a lower risk of stroke barely 2 months ago.
Of note, the 13,253 participants were in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) trial rather than June's Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) trial. Let's recall that these 7 ideal metrics are part of the
American Heart Association's Strategic Impact Goal Through 2020 and Beyond. Specifically, they were
never having smoked (or having quit more than 12mo); having
body mass index less than 25kg/m2;
daily consumption of 4-5 components of a healthy diet score; engaging in
more than 75min/wk of vigorous physical activity or 150min/wk of (at least) moderate physical activity. They also looked for an
untreated total cholesterol less than 200mg/dL, untreated blood pressure less than 120/80mm Hg; and untreated fasting glucose less than 100mg/dL.
Those who met at least 6 of the 7 lifestyle goals had half the cancer risk of those who had met none of the goals. After excluding the effect of tobacco use, those who met at least 5 of 6 lifestyle goals still had 25% lower risk of cancer compared to those who had met none of the goals. Bottom line:
what's good for your heart is good for your brain and also lowers your risk for cancer. You have to admit that's a pretty impressive 3 for the price of 1 deal!
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