Diet and cancer risk were studied using data from 472,377 British adults who were enrolled in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 by researchers from the University of Oxford. Meat and fish consumption was reported by 40 to 70-year-old participants, and researchers used health records to calculate the incidence of new cancers over an average of 11 years. For their research, they considered diabetes status as well as demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors. Most participants (52%) ate meat more than five times a week, while the rest (44%) consumed meat five or less times a week, with 10,696 (2%) eating fish but not meat and 8,685 (2%), vegetarians or vegans, making up the rest of the population. During the study period, 54,961 participants (12 percent) developed cancer.

According to the researchers, those who eat meat less than five times per week have a 2% lower risk of cancer, 10% lower risk for those who eat fish but not meat, and 14% lower risk for those who are vegetarians and vegans. A 9 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer was found among participants who consumed meat no more than five times per week compared to those who consumed meat more than five times per week, according to the study’s authors. Men who ate fish but not meat had a 20% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate meat more than five times per week, according to the researchers. Compared to women who ate meat more than five times per week, postmenopausal vegetarians had an 18% lower risk of breast cancer. Findings suggest that this is because vegetarian women tend to have lower BMIs than meat-eating women.

The study’s observational nature does not allow researchers to draw conclusions about a causal link between diet and cancer risk, according to the researchers. It’s possible that the dietary information in the UK Biobank doesn’t reflect participants’ actual diets because it was collected at a single point in time rather than continuously over time.

To better understand the link between meat consumption and cancer risk, future studies should focus on larger populations and longer followup periods.