The number of people diagnosed with cancer in Sweden has increased in recent decades. Today, an estimated 62,000 people will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point. In 2040, approximately 100,000 people are expected to receive the same message annually. The increase is because we live longer and get better at diagnosing cancer. But we also live less healthily, which increases the risk of infection.
A study recently published in scalpel It states that nearly half of all cancer deaths can be traced back to risk factors that are largely related to our lifestyles. In other words: nearly half of all cancer deaths globally are preventable. Smoking and alcohol account for the largest proportion. But it was cancer deaths related to being overweight or obese, previously referred to as obesity, that increased the most between 2010 and 2019.
The study emphasizes the importance of lifestyle. Last spring, the World Health Organization predicted obesity would become the leading cause of cancer in many countries. In Sweden, one in five children is overweight or obese. Obesity among adults has tripled since the 1980s. Here there is human suffering to be avoided and societal costs to be saved. Insight must create frantic activity in our decision makers. But instead, prevention ends up being off the agenda.
The most common measures are information efforts. This is despite the fact that research indicates that it is not enough to change behavior.
Perhaps because what we eat and how we move are a private matter. When the truth is that our lifestyles are a mixture – they are personal choices influenced by knowledge, social structures and norms. The vision of responsibility for our lifestyles simply needs to be expanded.
clear goal
This is also confirmed by the Cancer Foundation’s review of the Cancer Prevention Policy: There is a lack of policy actions that create environments in which the responsibility for making health decisions does not lie exclusively with the individual. The most common metrics are information metrics. This is despite the fact that research indicates that it is not enough to change behavior.
Economic instruments, which are considered to have greater impact, are unusual. There are great opportunities for change here. Therefore, goals are required. The Cancer Foundation believes that our politicians must set a goal of reducing preventable cancer cases by 30 percent by 2030.
These are not unreasonable ambitions. For decades, smoking has been a natural part of our lifestyle. When the dangers of smoking were discovered, society acted. A combination of efforts to increase knowledge, increase taxes and restrictions have been put into the common room. The result: the number of smokers decreased significantly. Thanks to strong and long-term measures at the societal level, Sweden has achieved a behavioral shift at the individual level. This now needs to be applied to the overweight and obese area.
It is time for politicians to turn knowledge into action, and thousands of lives could be saved.
Ulrika Årehed Kågström, The Secretary-General’s Cancer Foundation
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