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Maintaining A Healthy Weight

Body weight is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI) which helps to categorise weight into healthy normal weight, overweight or obese. Increased BMI with increased fat in the body is a risk factor for cancer. The following are the BMI categories:

• Normal healthy BMI is 18.5 or greater but less than 25
• A person is overweight when their BMI is greater than 25 but less than 30
• A person is obese when BMI is greater than 30

Body weight is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI) which helps to categorise weight into healthy normal weight, overweight or obese. Increased BMI with increased fat in the body is a risk factor for cancer. The following are the BMI categories:

• Normal healthy BMI is 18.5 or greater but less than 25
• A person is overweight when their BMI is greater than 25 but less than 30
• A person is obese when BMI is greater than 30

Use the chart below to find your BMI:

Waist circumference

Waist circumference is another measure used to assess weight and helps to indicate body fatness. The following are waist circumference measures that are used to categorise weight related risk:

• For women waist circumference of more than 80 cm increases risk for cancer
• For men waist circumference of more than 94 cm increases risk for cancer

Try to keep your body in a healthy weight range throughout your life keeping body fatness low. Increased weight with increased body fatness increases the risk for cancer. If you’re overweight, try not to gain any further weight and lose weight if possible. Aim to achieve a waist circumference:

• for women: below 80 cm
• for men: below 94 cm

It’s important to also look at other risk factors and decide on things you can do to lower your risk. CANSA supports the World Cancer Research Fund recommendations to help achieve or maintain a healthy weight. The World Cancer Research Fund recommends the following to help achieve or maintain a healthy weight:

• Engaging in physical activity
• Eating pulses such as beans, wholegrains, fruits and vegetables as often as possible
• Limiting the amount of ‘fast foods’ and processed foods that are high in fat (fried), sugar and refined starches (like white bread or white maize meal) that are eaten
• Limiting the amount of beverages sweetened with sugar and avoiding them if possible

Quality Of Dietary Intake

One portion is 1 cup of raw vegetables like salad and ½ cup of cooked vegetables or ½ cup of pure vegetable juice.

One portion of fruit is 1 medium sized fruit (medium banana or tennis ball size) or 2 small fruit (like plums or apricots) or ½ cup of chopped fruit or ½ cup non-sweetened or freshly squeezed fruit juice (if juice is used as a fruit portion, it should not be used for more than 1 portion).

Eating fruit and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C, carotenoids (plant chemicals that form part of the colour of vegetables and fruit and may have a protective effect against cell damage in the body) and that are a source of fibre can help to reduce the risk of cancer. You can get these nutrients from citrus fruits and green, red, orange and blue or purple fruits and vegetables. Aim to have as many of these foods every day choosing different colours as is possible for you. You can have up to 5-7 portions of vegetables and fruit a day to help reduce your risk of cancer.

One portion is ½ cup of oats/ brown rice/ sorghum/ millet/ barley / unprocessed maize meal or 1 slice of wholegrain bread (whole wheat/ rye).

Wholegrains are a source of fibre. The wholegrains mentioned above may contain 2-4g of fibre per portion. We should try to eat about 30g of fibre daily from wholegrains, pulses mentioned below, fruits and vegetables to help reduce the risk for cancer.

Dry beans, soya beans and other legumes and lentils are a very good source of fibre and isoflavones (compounds found in plant foods) which help to reduce the risk for cancer. Try to include them in meals 3-4 times a week.

Eating more than about 3 portions of red or processed meat every week may increase the risk for cancer. If you eat red or processed meat, try to limit this to less than 3 portions per week. It’s also important to note that processed and preserved meat is usually very high in salt and chemical used to preserve these foods which may increase cancer risk.

These foods are high in calories / kilojoules (energy) and if you eat too many of these foods very often, they can cause weight gain. As you’ve already seen in the section on body mass index, being overweight and obese increases the risk for cancer. If you really must have any of these foods, try to have them less than 3 times a week and in very small amounts.

These beverages are high in calories / kilojoules (energy) and if you drink too many of these drinks very often, they can cause weight gain. As you’ve already seen in the section on body mass index, being overweight and obese increases the risk for cancer. If you really must have any of these drinks, try to have less than 1 small glass a day.

*Please get your doctor’s approval and consult with a registered dietitian regarding your diet, especially if would like to make changes to improve your health and if you have an existing medical condition.

Physical Activity/ Movement

Regular and adequate amounts of physical activity or movement can help to reduce your risk for cancer. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate movement every day. Choose movement you enjoy, that gets your heart rate up* and works for you. Limit time spent sitting for extended periods like watching television.

*Please get your doctor’s approval on physical activity or movement before starting to be physically active, especially if you have not done anything in a while, or if you have an existing medical condition.

Alcohol Use

Contrary to popular belief one drink is not equivalent to one unit of alcohol

• The rule of thumb is a maximum of one unit of alcohol per hour, which constitutes 10ml of pure alcohol, based on an adult weighing 68kg
• Our bodies can process only one unit of alcohol each hour
• However, if weighing less than 68kg your body will need more time to process the same amount of alcohol

For cancer risk reduction, it’s best not to drink any alcohol. If you do drink alcoholic beverages, then the following can help to guide you:

• If you’re a woman over the age of 18 years limit alcoholic beverages to one standard drink per day (see the below chart to help you understand what one standard drink is).
• If you’re a man over the age of 18 years limit alcoholic beverages to two standard drinks per day (see the below chart to help you understand what one standard drink is).

Since women generally have a higher percentage of body fat than men with less total body water together with a decreased enzymatic capacity to break alcohol down, their blood alcohol levels may remain higher for longer and they are thus at increased risk for toxicity.

Practice Safe Sex (Oral, Anal, Vaginal)

Skin to skin sexual interaction which may include vaginal, oral or anal sex predisposes the risk of being infected with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). There are many types of HPV some which are higher risk HPVs (these can cause cancer) and some that are lower risk HPVs (which don’t cause cancer).

HPV infects most sexually active adults in the world (up to 80%). Even people with only one partner can get HPV, however infections are more likely for people who have multiple sexual partners or who have sex with someone who has multiple sexual partners.

HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer cases and a major cause of oral, anal, and penile cancers, as well as genital warts. Sexually active men and women of all ages should get vaccinated for protection against these cancers as well as genital warts.

Early detection by going for regular medical check-ups is key to enabling effective treatment and a better chance of recovering from cancer. It is important to know what screening options are available to you, especially if you have a family history of cancer. If you are experiencing symptoms which concern you, it is vital to have them investigated by a health professional as soon as possible.

Protecting Your Skin

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun or sunbeds increases the risk of melanoma and other types of skin cancer. To reduce your risk of getting skin cancer, do not use tanning /sun beds at any time. This is especially important during childhood and adolescence.

If you’re outside in the sun especially between 10h00 and 16h00 and for long periods of time, it’s important to protect your skin from the damage caused by the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun.

• Try to seek shade if possible or create your own shade by using an umbrella (preferably one that is made of ultraviolet protective fabric if possible – UPF 50).
• Wear long sleeves and or long pants or skirts that could protect your skin
• Sunglasses are also important to protect your eyes, and it’s best if you could wear ones with UV400 protection
• Regardless of how light or dark your skin is, sunscreen is important to protect any skin exposed to the sun. Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 20 or higher. It should be applied at least 20 minutes before sun exposure and reapplied every 2 hours, or more frequently after swimming or profuse perspiration.

Family History

Cancer can happen at any age but is more common among older people as body cells may become damaged over time through many risk factors including those described above. However, people may also be at risk of cancer due to genetic factors. A family history of certain cancers, especially breast, ovarian, colorectal, and prostate cancers, can increase the risk of developing these cancers. A possible indication of when this might be true is in cases of these cancers that are diagnosed at an earlier age, however, this may only be confirmed through genetic testing.

Prostate and testicular cancers in men have also been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in both men and women. Similarly, breast cancer in women has also been associated with prostate cancer in men. Persons identified as being at increased risk of various cancers based on their family history should know the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and remaining up to date on cancer screening tests.