Eating more fruit and vegetables and consuming less red meat and alcohol could prevent thousands of incidences of cancers each year, according to a major new study.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) discovered that 12 major types of cancer, including breast, bowel, stomach and pancreatic cancers, could be reduced by 39 per cent simply by adopting a healthier lifestyle.

The report — Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention — was written by 23 leading experts from around the world and found that 43 per cent of bowel cancer, 42 per cent of breast cancer, 67 per cent of cases of mouth, pharynx and larynx cancer, 75 per cent of oesophagus cancer, 19 per cent of kidney cancer, 45 per cent of stomach cancer and 41 per cent of pancreatic cancer could all be reduced by making some simple diet and lifestyle changes.

All of these major types of cancers could benefit from increasing fruit and vegatable intake and some could be avoided by reducing salt (stomach cancer), keeping body weight in check (pancreatic, bowel, kidney and breast cancers), increasing foods that contain folate such as brown rice, green vegetables and fortified cereals (pancreatic cancer), and cutting down on alcohol.

The WCRF suggests that people should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day, be active for at least 30 minutes, avoid sugary drinks and cut down on processed foods high in added sugar or fat, or low in fibre. People should also limit red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats (like bacon and hams and some sausages and burgers.). Two standard units of alcohol is the limit for men and women should have no more than one, while everyone should watch their salt intake and supplement their diet with a good multivitamin.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, chair of the WCRF panel, said: "This report shows that by making relatively straightforward changes, we could significantly reduce the number of cancer cases around the world." The report suggests that it is on the shoulders of worldwide governments, media, industry, individuals and workplaces to encourage these simple lifestyle changes and healthy eating habits.

Increases in cancer rates seem inevitable within the ageing population with obesity rates hitting all-time highs and people becoming more sedentary and consuming large amounts of junk and processed foods. However Professor Martin Wiseman, project director of the report, said that while estimating the proportion of preventable cancer cases is "complex and challenging", he added in light of this new research that "the good news is that this is not inevitable and we still have the chance to avert a crisis before it is too late."

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