A fresh look at healthy goals in the New Year

Much of your work focuses on helping people improve their health and prevent diseases like cancer. What drew you to this?

When I was a medical student and we’d visit cancer patients, it seemed like lung cancer was everywhere, and no one really talked about tackling smoking as a way to prevent it. People were talking about how to prevent heart disease and high blood pressure, but not cancer. It looked like there was real potential to go after cancer prevention in a creative and impactful way.

If someone asked you for the top three behaviors they should follow to lower cancer risk, what would you recommend?

The top one is: Don't smoke. Or, if you smoke, quit. Next would be to avoid weight gain. That may be surprising to hear, but extra weight increases the risk of many different cancers. Regular physical activity helps with controlling weight, as does my third top behavior: eating a healthy diet. Try to focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains — and limit fast and processed foods.

What’s something you do that’s pretty simple but can have a large payoff for health?

One easy thing has been building short walks into my daily life. A regular 15- to 20-minute walk to work or school or a nearby store can have amazing health benefits. I’m not perfect with it, but I’ve tried to make it a routine to walk instead of drive when it’s safe and pretty easy to do. I like to get longer walks in when I can, but it’s great to have this basic amount of activity built into my day.

Most of us can improve the way we eat. Do you have something you’ve been trying to work on recently?

One thing I started doing was switching to alcohol-free, or NA, beer. I'm Australian, and we’re known for liking beer. And the NAs are really good now — with a lot of options in stores and at bars and restaurants. So, I was like, “Let’s give it a go and switch.” It also felt important to do because we’ve tried to bring more attention to the message that zero alcohol is the best choice when it comes to cancer risk and overall health.

Health recommendations can change over time, whether it’s what to eat or drink or when we should get screening tests. Why this is?

This can feel frustrating, for sure. But we can also see such changes and say, “It's really good news. We know a lot more now than we used to.” Looking at breast cancer screening, mammogram technology today is much better than what we used to have. The richness of the image is better. And we have more studies that have gone on for longer periods of time. So, we have more evidence on the positive impact of mammograms on women’s health. With this, we can revisit and refine recommendations for when women should start screening and how often they should have it. This also applies to many other health recommendations. They can be refined over time as we learn more.

Wrapping things up, do you have any specific health goals for the coming year?

I'd like to lose a few more pounds and get back into the normal weight range. As a nation, the weight issue stands out. It’s a driver of so many chronic conditions — not just cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but also mobility and memory problems. And we haven't done a great job with policies and approaches that make it easier for people to be physically active and choose healthier foods. That’s a bigger goal for policymakers and health professionals like me. But on a more personal level, I’ll try to keep up with the steps that can help me get to a healthier weight in 2026.

That’s great. Thank you.

Thank you — and happy New Year!

Dr. Graham A. Colditz leads prevention research at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine in St. Louis. Much of his work focuses on translating research findings into tools and tips that help people lower their risk of disease and improve their health — including the 8IGHT WAYS to Prevent Cancer series.