NEW YORK, Jul 13 (Reuters) -- Diets rich in meat and low in fruits and vegetables may increase the risk of colon cancer, concludes a report.
"The dietary pattern associated with the greatest increase in risk is the one which typifies a Western-style diet," say researchers led by Dr. Martha Slattery of the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.
According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer kills over 46,000 people every year in the United States, making it the country's second leading cause of cancer death, after lung cancer. Experts have long speculated that certain foods and diets may influence colon cancer risk.
In their study, published in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, the investigators used detailed questionnaires to ascertain the long-term eating patterns of nearly 4,400 American adults. Half of those interviewed were colon cancer patients, while the other half were healthy "controls."
Men and women who ate what the researchers labeled a "Western" diet -- high in red and processed meats, refined grains and sugars, and low in fresh fruits and vegetables -- doubled their overall risk for colon cancer. This type of diet was also strongly associated with higher daily cholesterol and energy intake, weight gain, and obesity.
In contrast, individuals who stuck to what the researchers labeled a "prudent" diet -- low in red meat and sugars but high in fish, poultry, fresh fruits and vegetables -- achieved a nearly 40% reduction in their colon cancer risk. These individuals also exercised more and had an average lower body weight than those on more "Western" diets.
A third type of diet, where individuals substituted whole grains for processed grains, poultry for red meat, and margarine for butter, provided about a 15% reduction in risk, but statistical analysis shows that this difference may have occurred by chance. The researchers point out that these 'substituters,' "while adopting many healthy eating patterns, did not include vegetables as part of their dietary pattern and (therefore) did not experience the reduced risk of colon cancer observed in those with the prudent diet."
Slattery and her colleagues believe the study "lends further support to the commonly held belief that a Western-style diet contributes to colon cancer risk and that a prudent diet, one enriched with vegetables, refined grains, fruits, fish, and poultry, may help prevent colon cancer."
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 1998;148:4-16.
