Making seven diet and lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of dying from several diseases by 34 per cent, a landmark study has shown.

Researchers investigated nearly 380,000 people in nine European countries over 12 years and examined their diet and lifestyle to see how closely they complied with seven of World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research’s (WCRF/AICR) Recommendations for Cancer Prevention.

Dr Teresa Norat, of Imperial College London, led the research. She said: “This large European study is the first that shows there is a strong association between following the WCRF/AICR Recommendations on body weight, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption and breastfeeding and a reduced risk of dying from cancer, circulatory diseases and respiratory diseases.

“We compared the group of participants with the strongest adherence to the WCRF/AICR Recommendations to those with the weakest adherence to calculate the level of risk reduction that would come from concordance with the Recommendations.”

She added: “Now further research is needed in other large populations to confirm these findings.”

The Recommendations – concerning body fatness, physical activity, intake of foods and drinks that promote weight gain, intake of plants foods, meat, alcoholic drinks, and breastfeeding (women only) – were taken from the ten Recommendations in the WCRF/AICR 2007 Second Expert Report.

Those who most closely followed the WCRF/AICR Recommendations had a 50 per cent reduced chance of dying from respiratory disease, 44 per cent for circulatory disease and 20 per cent for cancer, when compared to the group with the lowest level of compliance.

The Recommendations with the greatest impact on reducing the risk of death from disease were being as lean as possible without becoming underweight (22 per cent reduced risk) and eating mostly plant foods (21 per cent).

In terms of cancer, limiting alcohol consumption and following the plant food recommendation reduced the risk of dying from the disease by the greatest margin, at 21 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is the first to examine breastfeeding as part of a combination of lifestyle changes to see what effect it has on risk of dying. It showed that women who breastfed for at least six months had a reduced risk of death from cancer (ten per cent) and circulatory disease (17 per cent).

It was also the first time scientists have examined the relationship between adherence to diet and lifestyle Recommendations and respiratory disease deaths.

Dr Panagiota Mitrou, Deputy Head of Science at WCRF, said: “This study by the team at Imperial College London demonstrates in real terms the value of the WCRF/AICR Recommendations in preventing deaths from a range of common diseases, not just cancer.

“The WCRF/AICR Second Expert Report produced ten Recommendations for Cancer Prevention. This study reinforces the value of those Recommendations and how they could also apply to other diseases.

“This evidence also highlights the importance of aspects of the government’s public health policy around increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, promoting breastfeeding and curbing alcohol use.”

Source: WCRF