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Toronto – Obesity may increase your risk of developing cancer, according to the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research.

In the most comprehensive study on lifestyle and cancer ever, the report offers harsh warnings on the link between food and lifestyle to cancer.

This panel found a staggering connection between excessive body fat and six types of cancer: esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, endometrium and kidney and breast cancer in post-menopausal women.

Red meat and processed meats, as well as alcohol also increase cancer risk.

Recommendations include; reducing body weight, not adding body fat after the age of 21, reduce amounts of sugar foods consumed, reduce the intake of red meat to 500 grams a week, avoid processed meats completely, and restrict alcohol intake.

“We are recommending five servings or more of vegetables and fruit daily because, like physical activity, they pack a double whammy against cancer,” panel member Dr. Phillip James said in releasing the 517-page report.

“Probable evidence indicates they help reduce cancer risk on their own, and as low energy-dense foods, they help maintain a healthy weight, which the evidence shows has a big influence on cancer risk,” James said.

In addition, the panel recommends physical activity on a daily basis.

The full report, entitled Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, is available online at: www.dietandcancerreport.org.

Here are the key recommendations preventing cancer:

-Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight.
-Be physically active as part of everyday life.
-Limit consumption of energy-dense foods high in fat and sugar but low in fibre. Avoid sugary drinks.
-Eat mostly foods of plant origin.
-Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.
-Limit alcoholic drinks.
-Limit consumption of salt.
-Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.
-Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed.
-Cancer survivors to follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.