The significant amount of time spent at workplace has a great influence on everybody’s health and overall balance, affecting us both at individual or at societal level. Currently, some of the most worrying factors related to our well-being are chronic diseases, among which cancer is maybe the most feared public enemy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively involved in finding solutions to reduce the effect of workplace conditions on cancer occurrence among individuals. People at work are mainly encouraged to follow information regarding physical activity and nutrition, which are in fact part of easy to apply “low-cost strategies”, too often ignored by the majority of us.
Among the most common cancer-associated risk factors, some are relatively easy to counteract, with small changes in our daily routine. These factors include alcohol and red meat consumption, diabetes, obesity, sedentary behavior, or tobacco use. All of them are not necessarily related to the work environment, but are overwhelmingly spread among all categories of workers and are manageable by workplace interventions. Alcohol consumption is linked to breast, colorectal, esophagus, larynx, liver, oral cavity and pharynx cancers. Diabetes can enhance bladder, breast, colon, liver, endometrium and pancreas cancer risks, obesity contributing to increased chances in developing colorectal, esophagus, endometrium, postmenopausal breast, gall bladder, kidney or pancreas cancers. Colorectal, endometrium, ovary or prostate cancer can be induced by sedentary behavior as well, smokers being more exposed to bladder, cervical, colorectum, esophagus, kidney, larynx, pharynx, liver, lung, oral cavity, pancreas, or stomach cancer occurrence. Very common workplace eating habits, like those including red meat, could contribute to colorectal cancer development as well.
[ads2]
Apart of reducing or even giving up on any unsafe practices like alcohol and tobacco use, or by having a sedentary life, other factors identified as protective against many types of cancer can be exploited at work as well, mainly during our daily meals. Thus, vegetable consumption can reduce or prevent esophagus, lung, larynx, stomach and oral cavity cancer development, a daily consumption of fruits having the same effect, including against the pharynx cancer as well. A high-fiber diet significantly contributes to the decreasing of colorectal cancer incidence among people. A weight maintenance strategy and physical activity can diminish post menopausal breast cancer occurrence among women, the latter also lowering the colorectal and endometrium cancer rate.