Those with the highest yogurt and fibre consumption had a 33 per cent reduced lung cancer risk as compared to the group who did not consume yogurt and consumed the least amount of fibre.

Risk of lung cancer can be reduced by consuming a diet which is high in fibre and yoghurt, says a study.

The benefits of a diet high in fibre and yoghurt have already been established for cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal cancer. The new findings based on an analysis of data from studies involving 1.4 million adults in the United States, Europe, and Asia suggest this diet may also protect against lung cancer.

Participants were divided into five groups, according to the amount of fibre and yoghurt they consumed.

Those with the highest yoghurt and fibre consumption had a 33 per cent reduced lung cancer risk as compared to the group who did not consume yoghurt and consumed the least amount of fibre.

"Our study provides strong evidence supporting the U.S. 2015-2020 Dietary Guideline recommending a high fibre and yoghurt diet," said senior author Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, MPH, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, associate director for Global Health and co-leader of the Cancer Epidemiology Research Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre.

"This inverse association was robust, consistently seen across current, past and never smokers, as well as men, women, and individuals with different backgrounds," she added in the study published in the journal -- JAMA Oncology.

Shu said the health benefits may be rooted in their prebiotic (nondigestible food that promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the intestines) and probiotic properties. The properties may independently or synergistically modulate gut microbiota in a beneficial way.

The study's lead authors are Jae Jeong Yang, PhD, a visiting research fellow from the Seoul National University, South Korea, and Danxia Yu, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt.