How the bad economy is encouraging bad habits - and how health officials are fighting back
By Elizabeth Cooney, Globe Correspondent | July 20, 2009
As if it wasn’t hard enough to lose weight, along comes this relentless recession to make it even more challenging.
Fattening foods are cheaper and easier to find than healthier fare. People are working longer hours for less pay, taking second jobs to make up lost earnings, and struggling to maintain a gym membership - or all three. Worrying about work translates into wider waistlines, it turns out, mostly for people who are already overweight. Oh, and losing sleep, too? That’ll add on the pounds, as well.
While it’s giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “the weight of the recession,’’ it has also presented doctors and health officials with an opportunity to remind people that healthy choices can be made in boom times and in bad times.
State and national health experts say it’s too soon to tell if the anemic economy is boosting obesity. But healthcare providers and exercise experts are seeing changes they tie to tighter times, for better or worse. Whether people turn to fast food because it’s what they can afford or skip exercise because they’re starved for time, the result can be unhealthy weight gain.
“There certainly are dangers during these difficult economic times,’’ John Auerbach, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, said. “It becomes more challenging for people to try to eat the healthiest foods or exercise regularly. It is an issue we are concerned about.’’ Click here to read more.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Diet, smoking, exercise key in colon cancer risk
Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:57pm EDT
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who want to reduce their risk of colon cancer may want to start exercising more and cutting down on red meat and alcohol, a new research review suggests.
Such measures -- along with not smoking -- may be key lifestyle choices in preventing the cancer, according to the analysis, which looked at more than 100 previous studies on colon cancer risk factors.
Overall, researchers found, high intake of red and processed meats, smoking, obesity and diabetes were all linked to a 20 percent increase in the risk of colorectal cancer. In contrast, people who exercised the most had a 20 percent lower risk of the disease than their sedentary counterparts.
Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to obesity, and both can be prevented or managed through a healthy diet and physical activity -- further highlighting the importance of lifestyle choices in colon cancer risk, the researchers report in the International Journal of Cancer.
As important as diet and exercise were, drinking habits emerged as the most significant lifestyle factor, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Rachel R. Huxley of the George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia.
Compared with adults who were light drinkers or teetotalers, those who averaged a drink a day or more had a 60 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer across the studies.
The key message, Huxley told Reuters Health, is that "colorectal cancer is a disease of lifestyle and that modifying inappropriate behaviors now -- such as reducing alcohol intake, quitting smoking and losing weight -- has the potential to substantially reduce a person's risk of the disease."
She added that this is likely to be true of all adults, including those who have a higher risk of colon cancer due to family history.
A 2007 report from the World Cancer Research Fund concluded that there was "convincing" evidence that obesity and high intake of red meat and alcohol contribute to colon cancer, Huxley's team notes. Studies on smoking and diabetes have been less consistent, however, and they acknowledge in the current study that many behaviors -- such as smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity, and eating a diet high in meat -- tend to occur together, making the effect of each individual behavior difficult to measure.
The current findings, the researchers write, suggest that smoking and diabetes are as important in colon cancer risk as obesity and red meat consumption.
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, July 1, 2009.
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who want to reduce their risk of colon cancer may want to start exercising more and cutting down on red meat and alcohol, a new research review suggests.
Such measures -- along with not smoking -- may be key lifestyle choices in preventing the cancer, according to the analysis, which looked at more than 100 previous studies on colon cancer risk factors.
Overall, researchers found, high intake of red and processed meats, smoking, obesity and diabetes were all linked to a 20 percent increase in the risk of colorectal cancer. In contrast, people who exercised the most had a 20 percent lower risk of the disease than their sedentary counterparts.
Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to obesity, and both can be prevented or managed through a healthy diet and physical activity -- further highlighting the importance of lifestyle choices in colon cancer risk, the researchers report in the International Journal of Cancer.
As important as diet and exercise were, drinking habits emerged as the most significant lifestyle factor, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Rachel R. Huxley of the George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia.
Compared with adults who were light drinkers or teetotalers, those who averaged a drink a day or more had a 60 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer across the studies.
The key message, Huxley told Reuters Health, is that "colorectal cancer is a disease of lifestyle and that modifying inappropriate behaviors now -- such as reducing alcohol intake, quitting smoking and losing weight -- has the potential to substantially reduce a person's risk of the disease."
She added that this is likely to be true of all adults, including those who have a higher risk of colon cancer due to family history.
A 2007 report from the World Cancer Research Fund concluded that there was "convincing" evidence that obesity and high intake of red meat and alcohol contribute to colon cancer, Huxley's team notes. Studies on smoking and diabetes have been less consistent, however, and they acknowledge in the current study that many behaviors -- such as smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity, and eating a diet high in meat -- tend to occur together, making the effect of each individual behavior difficult to measure.
The current findings, the researchers write, suggest that smoking and diabetes are as important in colon cancer risk as obesity and red meat consumption.
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, July 1, 2009.
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
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