More Than Half of Cancer Deaths in US a Result of Lifestyle Choices: Study

A new study shows that more than half of all cancer deaths in the United States result from ’modifiable risk factors,' also known as lifestyle choices.

stockcreations/Shutterstock

A new study by the American Cancer Society reveals that four in 10 cancer cases and about half of all cancer deaths in adults ages 30 and older in the United States are attributable to lifestyle choices, or “modifiable risk factors.”

These risk factors are considered things that a person can typically control and include smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and certain carcinogenic infections, according to the study published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Smoking Is the No. 1 Modifiable Risk Factor

Cigarette smoking topped the charts as the leading risk factor, contributing to nearly 20 percent of all cancer cases and close to 30 percent of cancer deaths. Smoking accounted for 56 percent of potentially preventable cancers in men and almost 40 percent of those in women.