Research has just been released in the United Kingdom (U.K.) that reveals that four out of ten of the most common types of cancer can have the risk reduced by simply adopting healthy living practices. While it is not a guarantee, the risk of getting those types of cancers is greatly reduced.

Over a period of five years, there were just about 600,000 people in the U.K. who developed cancer all because of a lack of good healthy living habits. What this means is that if these people had just changed their habits, they could have avoided the cancer. The analysis was performed on patients between 2007 and 2011.

The majority of the cases of cancer were caused by smoking. As many as 314,600 people developed cancer simply by using tobacco. When it comes to causes of cancer, smoking is still the biggest cause and it is the culprit in about one in five cases. Putting it another way, by giving up smoking, there could have been as many as 314,600 less cancer cases during this five year period.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that smoking causes several types of cancer. The risk of lung cancer is increased by 23 times in men who smoke, and 13 times in women. Nearly all lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking. Tobacco use also causes cancer of the larynx, the mouth and throat, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, stomach, cervix, bladder, and it also causes leukemia.

The next largest cause of cancer is the result of not eating healthy. Eating too much red meat and not enough vegetables caused 145,000 of the 600,000 cases of cancer.

A new report has been released that just identified why red meat increases the risk for cancer. Red meat contains a sugar molecule called Neu5Gc, which increases inflammation and leads to the formation of tumors. The study was performed by researchers at the University of California, in the San Diego School of Medicine. The findings of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Another common factor that is responsible for cancer is obesity and inactivity. As many as 88,000 people got cancer from excessive weight gain. This factor has been understood for a long time. In addition to cancer, there are a number of diseases which are caused by being overweight, and several of them can be fatal. These include diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Eating less junk food and increasing the number of vegetables eaten each day can help to reduce weight, along with a goodexercise program of 30 minutes a day for five days each week.

The Mayo Clinic in the United States suggests that eating less high fat foods and alcohol are also valuable in reducing the risk of cancer. Cancer risks are increased by alcohol consumption, and it may cause breast cancer, colon, kidney, liver, and lung cancers. The risk goes higher the more that is consumed and the longer the period over which it is used.

The numbers in this particular research study applies only to the United Kingdom. An earlier report from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) in 2011 identifies the numbers as 2.8 million people worldwide who get cancer simply from having a lack of a healthy lifestyle.

The findings of this research indicate that action needs to be taken by everyone who is not already living healthy. While it isn’t a guarantee that avoiding these things will prevent cancer altogether, it certainly can change the odds. Helping children to adopt healthy lifestyles could also save a life later on – and possibly their children, too.