Cutting bacon and booze out of diet could reduce cancer by 40%, study says

A new study suggests that avoiding bacon and alcohol could help reduce the risk of cancer by up to 40%.

The World Cancer Research Fund study, which sampled data from 51 million people, found that even the smallest amounts of processed meats and booze increased the risk of a number of cancers, according to the Evening Standard.

According to the study, obesity is threatening to overtake smoking as the “number one risk factor for cancer” within decades.

Evidence suggests excessive weight is the cause of at least 12 cancers.

The analysis linked obesity to liver, ovary, prostate, stomach, mouth and throat, join bowel, breast, gallbladder, kidney, esophagus, pancreas and womb cancers.

The findings of the report will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria.

Recommendations will be presented to urge people to “drink mostly water and unsweetened drinks” and limit or eliminate the consumption of processed foods, including fast food and those high in fat, starches and sugars.