UK cancer risk 'same as America'

Eating a diet full of fruit and vegetables, taking regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight could prevent about a third (80,000) of cancer cases in Britain, figures have shown.

New analysis reveals the US has a similar figure, despite higher rates of obesity.

Although rates of obesity are lower in the UK, Britons drink more alcohol. An estimated 20 per cent of breast cancer cases in the UK are linked to drinking too much – double the estimate for the USA.

Prof Martin Wiseman, scientific and medical adviser for the World Cancer Research Fund, said: "Because we read so much about America's problems with obesity and junk food, people may find it surprising that the proportion of cancer cases related to diet, physical activity and weight is just as bad here.

"It is true that a higher proportion of cancer cases in the US are linked to body fat, but not by much.

"In the US, we estimate that for the seven types of cancer that are weight related, just under 20 per cent could be prevented through people being a healthy weight. In the UK, this figure is about 17 per cent.

"But one reason the overall situation in the UK is as bad is the amount of alcohol we drink."