Half of Britons wrongly believe that stress causes cancer, a survey suggests.
Yet many are unaware of the proven link between the disease and processed meat and alcohol.
Commissioned by the World Cancer Research Fund, the poll lays bare the widespread ignorance about the causes of cancer. Campaigners believe more public awareness could save lives.
Half of Britons erroneously believe that stress causes cancer, the research revealed
Eating processed food significantly raises the risk of cancer, experts warned. They said the disease was claiming more lives because of the popularity of ready meals and sugary cereals
‘Ultra-processed’ food – any product involving an industrial procedure and including crisps – now makes up half of our diet (file photo)
The YouGov survey found 51 per cent did not know that processed meat increased cancer risk or that lack of exercise was also dangerous. Forty-one per cent were unaware of the link with alcohol. An encouraging 87 per cent knew smoking could cause cancer while 62 per cent said the same of obesity. Yet 50 per cent wrongly believed stress raised their risk.
Dr Rachel Thompson, a research chief at the WCRF, said: ‘Our research on cancer preventability estimates shows that about 24,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in the UK each year if people stopped drinking alcohol.
‘Making other similar lifestyle choices – such as limiting your processed meat intake – and making the public aware of these risks, could save even more lives.’
Stressful events are known to alter the levels of hormones in the body, which harms the immune system, increases blood pressure and raises the pulse.
These changes are known to have an impact on the heart, but Cancer Research UK says there is no evidence stress could lead to cancer.
A 2013 study including 100,000 people found no direct link between stress and bowel, lung, breast or prostate cancers. But experts believe there may be an indirect link, with a stressful lifestyle making people smoke or drink, which in turn increases cancer risk.
Fiona Osgun, a spokesman for Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Research shows there’s no direct link between stress and cancer, but being stressed can make us more likely to reach for a glass of wine or the biscuit barrel. On the upside, healthy ways of dealing with stress like going for a brisk walk can help cut cancer risk.
‘More than four in ten cases of cancer in the UK are preventable. It’s encouraging that awareness of some of the factors that can increase the risk of cancer, like smoking, are high. But these new statistics highlight what other research has also found; we’ve still got a way to go in helping everybody stack the odds in their favour.’
In the past, doctors stressed that cancer was down to genetics, and a diagnosis was simply a matter of ‘bad luck’.
That narrative has changed in recent years, with experts stressing the risk of cancer could be reduced with a healthy lifestyle. They believe a third of cancer cases could be avoidable – compared with 85 to 90 per cent of heart disease cases.
If everyone kept a healthy weight, had a nutritious diet and did regular physical activity about 80,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in the UK every year, they estimate. Caroline Moye, head of WCRF UK, said: ‘We want to live in a world where no one dies from a preventable cancer.’
Separate polling suggests four in five adults feel stressed during a typical week and one in ten are stressed all the time.
Some blame an ‘always-on’ culture, with workers taking calls or checking emails in the evenings and at weekends.