Western lifestyle 'behind soaring breast cancer rates'

London, Aug 9 (ANI): Western lifestyle that encourages women to over-eat, drink too much and exercise too little is responsible for high number of breast cancer cases, say new figures.

According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the breast cancer rate in Britain is more than four times higher than in eastern Africa, which has the lowest in the world, reports the Daily Mail.

Other parts of the world also have far fewer cases of breast cancer, with rates only half as high in South America and two-thirds lower in parts of Asia.

However, this means the disease is not 'inevitable' for British women, who can cut the risk by taking action to prevent it, claims the World Cancer Research Fund.

The charity analysed the latest international cancer statistics, which show 87.9 women per 100,000 in the UK were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.

The figure puts Britain in ninth place among high-income countries. This compares with just 19.3 women per 100,000 in eastern Africa, which includes Kenya and Tanzania, at the bottom of low-income nations.

The highest rates of breast cancer in the world are in Belgium, which had 109.4 cases per 100,000 women in 2008.

In second place is France with 99.7 cases, according to the data. (ANI)