Being overweight or obese increases the risk of cancer at several sites 1: 

• Colon 
• Breast (post-menopause) 
• Endometrium (lining of the uterus) 
• Kidney 
• Oesophagus.

• Almost 56 per cent of South Australian adults are overweight or obese. This is an increase of more than 3 per cent from 2001. 2 
  
  
• 31 per cent of South Australians aged 30 years or over reported gaining 5 kg or more in weight over the past five years. 2 
  
  
• 78 per cent per cent South Australians did not meet the recommended amount of physical activity to reduce the risk of cancer. 2 
  
  
• To reduce cancer risk, Cancer Council SA recommends adults do 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity every day. 3 
  
  
• 66 per cent of South Australians did not meet the recommended amount of physical activity for general health benefit. 2 
  
  
• For general good health, Cancer Council SA recommends adults do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days. 3 

Recommendations 

Cancer Council SA recommends maintaining a healthy body weight, regular physical activity, quitting smoking, protecting yourself from the sun and a healthy diet to cut your risk of getting cancer in half.

Put simply, by doing the following you can cut your risk of getting cancer in half: 

• Eat well – lots of vegetables and fruit. 
• Get some exercise. 
• Stay at a healthy weight (body mass index range of 18.5 – 25). 
• If you are overweight, try to lose weight. 
• Avoid excessive alcohol consumption. 
• Protect yourself from the sun (adopt SunSmart practices). 
• If you smoke, quit. (Quitline 13 7848).

To empower South Australians with basic information about how to best reduce their risk of developing cancer, Cancer Council SA developed the LiveSmart booklet.

LiveSmart is an approach to living well and doing simple things like eating fruit and vegetables, exercising, giving up smoking, and protecting ourselves from the sun. 

Children and adolescents need sufficient nutritious foods to grow and develop normally. Growth should be checked regularly for young children. 1 

Physical activity is important for all children and adolescents. 1 

The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years. 1