The Hindu : New Delhi News : “Eat more fruits, vegetables to check cancer”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

“Eat more fruits, vegetables to check cancer”

Aarti Dhar

Reduce intake of sugary drinks, fast food, red and processed meat: report

NEW DELHI: Indians need to increase their intake of fruits and non-starchy vegetables while cutting down on sugary drinks, fast food and red and processed meat to check cancer.

According to the new Global Report on Diet and Cancer brought out by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, Indians must also enhance their physical activities.

The report, drafted by a panel of 21 doctors and experts, has made 10 recommendations related to individual living habits globally that stress on the need to avoid excess body weight and a bulging waistline as both are now known to increase the risk of several cancers such as post-menopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, oesophageal cancer and cancer of the gall bladder.

Half an hour of vigorous exercise or an hour of moderate exercise daily, consuming at least 400 gm of non-starchy vegetables and fruits (from the present level of 130 gm/day), along with fibre-rich unrefined or minimally refined cereals, grains and pulses, legumes and reducing the consumption of red meat to less than 500 gm a week are some other suggestions made by the panel.

Incidence high

Exclusive breast-feeding for six months reduces the risk of developing breast cancer, both for the mother and the child when they grow up.

India has a high incidence of cancer with the most common among men being those of the oral cavity and pharynx and cancer of the cervix among women.

Although these cancers have declined since the late 1970s, the incidence remains high. Cancer of the oesophagus and lung has decreased slightly but breast cancer has increased steadily since 1970s.

For the period 2002-03, 10 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women aged 18-69 were classified as sedentary. For men aged 20-70, 25.4 per cent had a body mass index (BMI) of over 25 while 35.8 per cent of women aged 20-70 also had a BMI of over 25.

A review for 2002 established that the prevalence of pre-school obesity was about 1 per cent, but stunting remained a problem in over half of all children. Obesity is uncommon in India and varies with socio-economic status, being more common in high-income households.

The average amount of available food energy has risen between 1964 and 2004, from around 2,050 to 2,470 kcal/person a day. Of late there has been a large increase in the consumption of animal products, fats and sugars. The proportion of energy from fat has increased over the years while there has been a reduction in cereal (grains) consumption.

The study was supported by 200 scientists conducting an extensive review of evidence from over 7,000 studies over five years between 2003 and 2007. Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, was among the 21 panellists.

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