Almost 80,000 cases of cancer could be prevented every year through regular fitness training and a healthy diet, new figures suggest.

Despite this, only 45 per cent of people in the UK are aware of the benefit of exercise in helping to prevent the disease, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) found.

A further 40 per cent of people are unaware of the link between diet and cancer while 41 per cent do not know excess body fat can also increase the risk.

Professor Martin Wiseman, medical and scientific adviser for the WCRF, said that while a balanced diet and regular exercise was by no means a guarantee against cancer, following healthy lifestyle choices would mean that tens of thousands of cancer cases in the UK would be prevented every year.

"When you consider that these estimates do not include the cancers that would be prevented through not smoking, it is clear that cancer is actually a largely preventable disease," he added.

WCRF recommends people exercise for 30 minutes a day, be as lean as possible without becoming underweight, avoid sugary drinks and processed foods and limit consumption of red meats while avoiding processed meats.

A separate study published recently in the British Journal of Cancer suggested that an hour of physical activity a day can cut your risk of prostate cancer by up to 14 per cent.