Lifestyle and Cancer Impact and Prevention Strategies[2024]

lifestyle decisions that influence cancer incidence in India.

The incidence of cancer varies with changes in socioeconomic status and lifestyle in any given geographic area; this relationship may be inverse or linear.

Over the past few years, the Indian economy has experienced growth and stabilization. So has the way of life; instead of cycling and walking, more people now lead sedentary lives due to the prevalence of “desktop workstations” and “motor mobility.”

Sports and outdoor activities have been supplanted by laptops and mobile gaming. Obesity has been exacerbated by diets high in calories and the fast-food industry. When alcohol and smoking are added, you have a perfect storm for the development of lifestyle diseases, cancer included.

Cancers such as those of the breast, colon, uterus, and prostate are more common in those who are obese and lead sedentary lifestyles, and they are also more common in those with higher socioeconomic status.

According to a WHO report, unless cancer care is increased in low- and middle-income countries, cancer rates could rise by 60% globally over the next 20 years due to an increase in cancer incidence in these countries.

Despite improved economies, fewer than 15% of these countries offer comprehensive cancer treatment services through their public health systems, according to the U.N. agency.

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The impact of lifestyle on breast and cervical cancers.

In India, there is a diverging trend in the incidence of cervical and breast cancer. About 122,844 cases of cervical cancer and 144,937 cases of breast cancer are reported from India each year.

The urban middle class is seeing an increase in breast cancer cases. According to the WHO report, this could be partially explained by advancements in women’s socioeconomic status, higher levels of education, rising household incomes, later marriage and first-birth ages, lower parity, sedentary lifestyle adoption, industrialized country-typical dietary patterns, and decreased levels of physical activity in female generations after them.

Nonetheless, there has been a noticeable decline in cervical cancer cases among middle-class urban women due to increased access to education and HPV vaccinations, some of which have been linked to cervical cancer. Low socioeconomic classes and rural areas have not yet demonstrated this level of awareness.

Women with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to get cervical cancer. Approximately one-third of all cervical cancer deaths worldwide occur in India. Its rising incidences are caused by increased sexual freedom, an increase in the number of sex partners, and a certain degree of poor personal hygiene.

The Indian context of tobacco use and cancer.

The Indian lower classes are more likely to use smoked and chewed tobacco.  Oral cavity and head and neck cancers are highly prevalent in populations that are more likely to abuse chewing tobacco or smoke cigarettes.

According to WHO estimates, 80% of smokers worldwide reside in low- and middle-income nations.

The main three nations where tobacco abuse—either smoked or chewed—is most common are China, India, and Indonesia.

According to the report, 42 million people in India smoke and chew tobacco, 69 million smoke, and 164 million use smokeless tobacco. Over 90% of individuals diagnosed with oral cancer come from low- to lower-middle-class socioeconomic backgrounds. In most parts of India, tobacco-related cancers make up 10–27% of all cancer cases in women and 34-69% of all cancers in men.

Growing prevalence in both younger and older people with better lives

An increase in life expectancy due to improved lifestyle choices and access to better medical care is a major factor in India’s rising cancer incidence rate. An individual’s immune system may become weaker with age, making them more vulnerable to cancer.

Contrary to popular belief, a growing number of younger people than ever before are receiving cancer diagnoses.

Breast cancer is striking younger women at an increasing rate due to factors such as sedentary lifestyles, smoking, alcohol consumption, age at marriage, and childbirth.

role of screening, prevention, and improved health care.

In India, the importance of screening, early detection and prevention, and improved access to healthcare services, including cancer treatment, cannot be overstated.