Box 1.

Lifestyle Recommendations for Cancer Prevention

The 2020 ACS Guidelines on Diet and Physical Activity For Cancer Prevention 83

1. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight throughout life. Keep your weight within a healthy range and avoid weight gain in adult life.

2. Be physically active.

a. Get at least 150–300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week (or a combination of these). Getting to or exceeding the upper limit of 300 minutes is ideal.

b. Limit sedentary behavior such as sitting, lying down, watching TV, or other forms of screen-based entertainment.

3. Follow a healthy eating pattern at all ages.

A healthy eating pattern includes:

a. Foods that are high in nutrients in amounts that help you get to and stay at a healthy body weight.

b. A variety of vegetables—dark green, red and orange, fiber-rich legumes (beans and peas) and others.

c. Fruits, especially whole fruits in a variety of colors.

d. Whole grains.

A healthy eating pattern limits or does not include:

e. Red and processed meats

f. Sugar-sweetened beverages

g. Highly processed foods and refined grain products.

h. It is best not to drink alcohol. People who do choose to drink alcohol should have no more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.

The 2018 WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendation 84

1. Be a healthy weight. Keep your diet within the healthy range and avoid weight gain in adult life.

2. Be physically active. We recommend being physically active as part everyday life—walk more and sit less.

3. Eat a better diet. Make wholegrains, vegetables, fruits, and beans as part of your usual diet.”

4. Limit fast foods. Limit consumption of ‘fast foods’ and other processed foods high in fat, starches, or sugars.

5. Limit red and processed meat. Eat no more than moderate amounts of red meat, such as beef, pork, and lamb.

6. Cut down on sugary drinks. Limit sugar-sweetened drinks, drink mostly water and unsweetened drinks.

7. Limit alcohol consumption. For cancer prevention, it’s best not to drink alcohol.

8. Do not use supplements for cancer prevention. Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone

9. Breastfeed your baby, if you can. Breastfeeding is good for mother and baby.

10. After a cancer diagnosis, follow our recommendations, if you are able to.”