Resolve to reclaim a healthy lifestyle

The publication yesterday by Cancer Research UK of a report that showed that more than four in 10 cancers could be prevented if people led healthier lives hardly made for comforting holiday reading but then it was not intended as such.

It was intended, as we all try to recover from the excesses of Christmas, as a warning if not a rebuke that we, 40% of us anyway, have far more control over our personal health and well being than we recognise. It was intended to remind us that we make decisions around consumption and exercise that can have lethal consequences.

At this time of the year cancer charities — and what a cruel juxtaposition those words are — usually remind us all that we are, to a large degree, masters of our own well being and encourage people to consider their health when making New Year resolutions. They remind us that smoking is still by far the biggest self-inflicted threat and that we should support smokers trying to kick the wretched habit. The report reminded us that using too much processed food is a risk and can lead to the affliction of the age — obesity.

It is of course far easier to point out the implications of a poor lifestyle than it is to confront them. Therefore how enriching and wonderfully proactive it would be if we all encouraged those determined to reclaim their lives by denial and disciple by supporting them in practical ways. We could start by hiding that box of sweets.