Red meat linked to cancer risk

Published: 4:19PM Thursday June 16, 2005 Source: AAP

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People who eat a diet high in red and processed meat increase their risk of bowel cancer by as much as a third, new research shows.
  
Past studies have highlighted a possible link between eating large amounts of red meat and a greater risk of bowel cancer.
  
The latest research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, used data from a long-running study of the diets of more than half a million people across Europe.
  
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) found that the risk of developing bowel cancer for people who regularly ate more than two portions of red and processed meat a day was a third (35%) higher than for those who ate less than one portion a week.
  
The study also found that the risk of developing the disease increased for those people who had a low-fibre diet.
  
Poultry was not found to influence the risk of bowel cancer, but the researchers did find that people who ate more fish faced less chance of developing the disease.
  
The risk of bowel cancer dropped by nearly a third (30%) for people who ate one portion or more of fish every other day - compared to those who ate fish less than once a week.
  
The research was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
 
Professor Sheila Bingham, a principal investigator of the study from the MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit in Cambridge, said: "People have suspected for some time that high levels of red and processed meat increase risk of bowel cancer, but this is one of the largest studies worldwide and the first from Europe of this type to show a strong relationship.
  
"The overall picture is very consistent for red and processed meat and fibre across all the European populations studied."
  
EPIC coordinator Dr Elio Riboli, of the World Health Organisation International Agency for Research into Cancer, added: "This study of so many different populations and diets has provided an accurate picture of how different kinds of familiar foods in our diet relate to the incidence of bowel cancer.
  
"Other risk factors for the disease include obesity and lack of physical activity.
  
"Smoking and excess alcohol may also play a role. These factors were all taken into account in the analysis."
  
Professor Tim Key, deputy director of Cancer Research UK's epidemiology unit, said the study strengthened evidence that bowel cancer risk could be cut by increasing fibre in the diet and reducing consumption of red and processed meat.
  
"Around 35,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK.
  
"We estimate that more than two-thirds of colorectal cancer cases - 25,000 cases in the UK - could be avoided by changes in lifestyle in Western countries," he added.
  
The Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) said that people in Britain ate well below the 160g-per-day consumption levels that were used to class high intake in the study.
  
They said that the amount of red and processed meat eaten by the average Briton was only 93g a day.
  
Mike Attenborough, MLC technical director, said: "Once again this points towards the need for moderation and balance in what we eat.
  
"Meat is typically eaten with vegetables and sources of fibre such as potatoes, all of which are considered by scientists to have a protective effect against bowel cancer.
  
"Lean red meat is recognised as an important part of a healthy, balanced diet, and research shows it is a valuable source of protein, iron, zinc and other essential nutrients."
 

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