Being overweight could contribute to the cause of some common cancers, according to the WCRF.

A leading scientist from the World Cancer Research Fund UK (WCRF) has stated that one third of common cancer cases – equating to almost 19,000 people a year – could be prevented if people ate healthily and exercised.

A healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) for a UK adult is between 18.5 and 25. The WCRF believes that around 18,600 cancer cases could be prevented if everyone had a BMI under 25.

However, those at the higher end of the BMI range are 15% more likely to develop bowel cancer. Although still a healthy weight, this is why Professor Martin Wiseman, WCRF’s Medical & Scientific Adviser, has recommended that people aim to be “as lean as possible without becoming underweight”.

Professor Wiseman said: “The evidence that being overweight puts you at increased risk of cancer is stronger now than ever before and we now say that, after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the most important thing you can do for cancer prevention.

“But a recent survey showed almost 40% of people still do not know that excess body fat is a cause of cancer. This means we need to do more work to spread the message that maintaining a healthy weight is something positive people can do to reduce their risk of developing cancer later in life.”

A healthy diet can not only help prevent people getting cancer, it can also help prevent the disease recurring in cancer survivors. Earlier this month, the WCRF revealed that more than two million cancer survivors in the UK were following fad diets “not based on scientific evidence and that may be doing them more harm than good”. It advised that people should eat a healthy plant-based diet combined with half an hour of exercise every day.

The news comes ahead of Cancer Prevention Week, which starts 11 May. For more information about the disease and the organisation, visit http://www.wcrf-uk.org