A Healthy Weight May Lower Cancer Risk
November 2010 -
Latest Research: Even Late in Life, Activity and Plant-Based Diet Lower Cancer Risk
Maintaining a healthy weight may be more critical than originally thought to staying cancer-free.
Excess body fat is the leading cause of cancer second only to smoking.
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) launched a campaign called “Don’t Let It Happen” to raise awareness about the link between obesity and cancer. This campaign follows the release of the AICR expert report Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. A panel of world-renowned experts surveying studies on cancer risk factors reviewed data from more than 400 studies on body fat and cancer and found excess body fat increases risk for post-menopausal breast cancer as well as cancers of the pancreas, kidney, esophagus, colorectum, and endometrium.
According to AICR literature, excess body fat and in particular abdominal fat produce proteins that increase inflammation and insulin resistance, all of which stimulate cells to divide. In addition, excess fat produces estrogen, which encourages cell growth. So if someone is overweight, he or she has high levels of substances circulating in their blood that stimulate cell division. There’s more opportunity for cancer cells to appear. However, if you have a BMI of 24.9 or above, there is hope.
The AICR report recommends the following steps for people seeking to prevent cancer-causing excess body fat:
1. Base your diet on low energy-dense foods (salad, baked potato) as these will help you feel more full than, say, a McDonald’s hamburger.
2. Watch your portion size.
3. Keep physically active, in any way, for at least 30 minutes a day.
4. Choose mostly plant-based food, limit meat and avoid red meat.
According to Alice Bender, RN, AICR Nutrition Communications Manager, small steps can prevent dieters who are overweight from developing cancer. For example, people who want to watch their portion sizes can reduce the size of the plates they eat from. Sedentary workers who spend a great deal of time w at a computer might benefit from short bursts of cardio activity, which burn fat faster, according to studies.
The overall emphasis is on gradual, small change. Bender said the studies show that people don’t have to make a wholesale overnight change in their lives.
“It might be as simple as saying ‘I don’t eat any vegetables at lunch. I’m going to start eating a vegetable at lunch three times a week.’ I think [taking] the small steps is really a good message for people to hear,” Bender said.
Bender also recommends that people who aim for weight maintenance follow the configuration of AICR’s creation, The New American Plate (image courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research):
Two-thirds of the plate should be occupied by plants in particular because a number of plant-based foods with fiber and fruits show protective effects against cancer. In addition, they fill you up so you’re not eating as much.
If dieters haven’t yet taken these actions and are at a weight that is unhealthy or that they are unhappy with, they can decide, for example, to focus on not gaining any more weight (See Top Line Diet's psychological weight loss & management tips). A dieter at an in-between stage, not gaining weight but not yet at a healthy leaner body weight, can maintain weight and still prevent cancer.
Bender pointed to the AICR campaign “Never Too Late,” which encourages people to track their fitness and nutrition through the worksheets My Fitness Plan and My Plate Plan.
“For me it’s about looking at what you’re eating or your physical activity and making positive changes for yourself,” Bender said.
See also the full weight loss/management & cancer risks interview transcript with Alice Bender, Nutrition Communications Manager, for the AICR.
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