Less Food, Less Cancer

It was once considered a sign of health for kids to be a little on the plump side, but in today's world of junk food and empty calories, it means an increased risk of developing cancer.

Relying on meticulous data gathered in England and Scotland from 1937 to 1939, British researchers studied the diets of nearly 4,000 children, then compared that information with their health status later as adults. They found that, as long as the children's families were reasonably prosperous, those kids who ate fewer calories faced a smaller risk of suffering from cancers unrelated to smoking as adults. The likelihood of dying from these cancers was 2½ times greater for those children who consumed the highest number of calories, than for those who consumed the fewest calories. For each added 250 calories a day, the risk of dying of cancer rose by 20%.

Previous research in both humans and animals has also shown a connection between eating less and reduced cancer risk. Overweight people have higher rates of several types of cancer than those of normal weights, and rats given a restricted diet of one-third fewer calories live significantly longer that those allowed to eat freely.

Researchers suggest that kids should eat more fruits and vegetables, and reduce high-calorie foods such as ice cream, cookies, chips, fries and hamburgers.

Based on information in: The New York Times, 2-17-98