According to recent studies, there are two crucial developmental stages—the perinatal (while still in the womb) and adolescence to early twenties—when stressor exposure can dramatically raise the risk of acquiring cancer. Experts are highlighting the possible connection between junk food and other bad diets and the increased cancer rates among young people.
The key life stages when people are most vulnerable to the disease were identified by an Australian cancer specialist. Associate Professor Savio Barreto stressed that in order to lower the risk of cancer, “stressors” such as smoking, binge drinking, and obesity must be avoided. He pointed out that the rising incidence of cancer in Australia is partly due to the obesity pandemic.
Barreto, a cancer surgeon and researcher at South Australia’s Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre, found that there are two critical life stages during which these stressors are most likely to have an adverse effect on the body and cause cancer. People can greatly reduce their chance of contracting the illness by leading a healthy lifestyle and avoiding these things.
Everyone is aware that obesity raises one’s risk of developing cancer. Diet, exercise, and changes to lifestyle are important if a someone is overweight. All of the guidance I offer is around maintaining a healthy lifestyle, exercising common sense, and staying away from these things.
Although a person cannot stop their mother from being exposed to dangerous substances, such as alcohol, drugs, or malnutrition, while she is pregnant, they can choose to live a healthy life as a teen or young adult. Nonetheless, the appeal of a party lifestyle frequently outweighs health risks.
In order to lower the risk of cancer, Barreto underlined the significance of making educated decisions at these critical times. Over the past ten years, there has been an increase in the number of young Australians receiving cancer diagnoses, underscoring the critical need for preventive measures.
The data indicate “a statistically significant increase in cancer rates in Australians aged under 40,” according to Anita Dessaix, chair of the Cancer Council Public Health Committee.
According to her, this is particularly noteworthy in cases of cancer linked to increasing body mass, such as pancreatic, uterine, kidney, intestine, and gallbladder malignancies. “It’s obvious that this needs to be a clear focus for public health, even though there is still a lot of research to be done on how weight loss can reduce cancer risk.”
Dessaix also observed a rise in the incidence of breast cancer among younger women. According to her, the causes are not entirely known and can include the fact that malignancies are being detected earlier because to advancements in diagnostic technologies.
Eliminating processed and junk food may be one way to prevent cancer. Early research has demonstrated that foods known as ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), which are foods that have undergone multiple processing steps and had artificial substances added to them, can change the gut microbiome—the group of beneficial bacteria that inhabit the human body.
It has also been demonstrated that the foods irritate the gut walls and result in long-term inflammation. It is thought that all of these raise the chance of developing cancer.
