Results of a study involving nearly 30,000 women show that diet and lifestyle guidelines developed by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) can reduce a woman's risk of getting cancer, an AICR release said.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Centre analyzed data from the Iowa Women's Health Study to document how following AICR recommendations affected cancer risk among the 29,564 women whose diets and lifestyles were tracked for 13 years. The AICR recommendations include a diet high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, maintaining a healthy weight, getting regular physical activity and not smoking.

"Our study found that women who followed only one or none of AICR's diet and lifestyle recommendations had a 35 per cent higher risk of developing cancer than women who followed most of the AICR recommendations," said Dr. James Cerhan, lead author of the study and head of the Mayo Clinic's Genetic Epidemiology and Risk Assessment Programme.

Women who followed only one or none of the AICR guidelines also had a 43 per cent higher risk of dying from cancer.

"Furthermore, we estimate that if all the women in this study group had followed a majority of the guidelines and never smoked, approximately 30 per cent of their new cancers and cancer deaths could have been prevented or delayed," Cerhan added.

"This is a tremendously exciting, important finding," AICR director of Nutrition Education, Melanie Polk said. "It's great to have proof that our advice has such a direct and measurable effect on cancer risk. Knowing that is more important than ever, because many people still think that cancer is inevitable or 'in the genes.' But research is showing that the everyday choices we make about diet, exercise and weight management have a central role in reducing cancer risk," she added.

In the study, published in the July 7 issue of the journal, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, Dr. James Cerhan and his colleagues adapted 14 international recommendations from the landmark 1997 WCRF/AICR Expert Report called Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective. The Mayo Clinic researchers "operationalized" those global recommendations into nine they judged "relevant to western populations:"

Having a maximum BMI (body mass index) of 25 and limiting adult weight gain to no more than 11 pounds.
Engaging in daily moderate and weekly vigorous physical activity.
Eating five or more servings of vegetables and fruits each day.
Eating seven or more portions of complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and cereals each day; limiting processed foods and refined sugars.
Limiting alcoholic drinks to one (for women) or two (men) daily.
Limiting red meat to about three ounces daily.
Limiting intake of fatty foods, particularly those of animal origin.
Limiting intake of salted foods and use of salt in cooking.
Not smoking.

That original WCRF/AICR Expert Report from which these recommendations were adapted has generated enormous scientific interest in the role of lifestyle and cancer prevention. Since its publication, many thousands of new studies have been undertaken. In 2006 WCRF/AICR will publish its 2nd Expert Report, the largest study of its kind ever undertaken.