2.1x Risk! In *Kitchen Survival Battle*, don’t just tough out cooking oil fumes

When I came across this news on the subway, my first reaction wasn’t fear—it was how real it felt. A lot of people don’t usually smoke, and their daily routine is fairly regular, yet they still spend the longest part of the day standing in the kitchen. It looks like ordinary home cooking, but in reality it’s more like a long-term war of attrition, with the damage building up little by little.

The latest health report released by the National Health Commission mentions that cooking frequently itself carries health risks. In particular, people who cook three meals a day have a 2.1 times higher risk of lung cancer than the average person. That number is striking enough on its own, and compared with only cooking one meal a day, women who take on all three daily meals face even more obvious pressure. A survey published in an authoritative medical journal also noted that the longer women stay in the kitchen, the higher the related disease risk.

What’s even more frustrating is that many people think only stir-frying and deep-frying are dangerous. In fact, in the latest China Anti-Cancer Healthy Lifestyle Guidelines, experts have already classified cooking oil fumes produced by high-temperature frying as a Group 2A carcinogen. But that doesn’t mean steaming, boiling, or stewing are completely safe, because fine particulate matter and harmful gases can still linger in the kitchen. Just because you can’t smell them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

So the most practical advice isn’t to cook less, but to change your habits little by little. The experts’ recommendation is very clear: “turn on the range hood early and turn it off late,” keeping it running throughout the entire cooking process. The original text also mentions that this alone can reduce related risks by 51%. Put simply, don’t wait until the pan is hot to remember to switch it on, and don’t turn it off the moment the dish comes out of the pan.

From the perspective of a casual player, this is basically the lowest-cost form of everyday protection. You don’t need to study complicated solutions, nor do you need to renovate the whole kitchen all at once. First, use the range hood properly, then pay attention to kitchen ventilation. It’s like casually turning on your phone’s power-saving mode—not much trouble, but well worth it in the long run.

Also, a lot of people in the comments under this post were saying that the people who really need the reminder at home are often the ones responsible for all three meals. Especially the older generation—mothers and grandmothers—who often feel that inhaling a little cooking smoke is no big deal, and are reluctant to keep the machine running too long for fear of wasting electricity or making too much noise. But judging from the trend, health protection is no longer just about cutting down on salt and oil; indoor air quality should also be treated as a household necessity.

Still, there’s no need to be so intimidated by the data that you become afraid to step into the kitchen. The article’s conclusion is very clear: the key is to change cooking habits, improve ventilation conditions, and build a line of health defense for your family. For ordinary people, it’s enough to remember one thing first: keep the range hood on throughout the entire cooking process. Even if you’re just simmering a soup, don’t slack off.