Incorrect diet increases cancer risk

Malnutrition favors the development of cancer

01/17/2014

Cancer researchers warn against the western lifestyle. Obesity, overeating and metabolic disorders favor cancer. While tobacco use has been the main risk factor for cancer in the developed world, obesity and obesity may soon take its place. This is indicated by the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg.

Unhealthy eating leads to obesity and increases the risk of cancer
While tobacco use, the main risk factor for cancer, has been declining for several years, diet-related illnesses are catching up. „It could well be that the factor overweight and malnutrition encounters this gap, "reports DKFZ CEO Otmar Wiestler to the news agency „dpa“. „We have more and more evidence that our Western lifestyle of overeating, obesity and metabolic disorders is leading to a significant increase in cancer. The relationship is relatively clear for cancers in the gastrointestinal area. But it also seems to be the case for breast cancer, prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer, "explains the doctor in the run-up to World Cancer Day on February 4. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), overweight and obesity are a worldwide epidemic. 4 billion adults are overweight and around one-third of them are obese, and those with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 to 30.0 are considered to be overweight according to the WHO and BMI values ​​above indicate obesity three degrees of severity can be distinguished.

For a long time, mainly cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have been linked to obesity and obesity. But also in the development of cancer, body weight and eating habits play an essential role. According to DKFZ, eating habits should make up about 20 to 42 percent of the cancer. How exactly the diet affects the formation of tumors is still unknown. „If you understand the relationship between diet and cancer, you can also develop ways to intervene in a targeted manner, "says Wiestler.It is important that the diet consists of a high fiber and fiber-rich diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits, but sugared and high-fat foods should be The goal is not to let excess weight develop in the first place, thus reducing the risk of cancer with a healthy diet.

Consumption of red meat is said to favor cancer
Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen is studying how eating red meat can cause infections and colon cancer. Those who regularly eat red meat in the long term have a 20 to 30 percent higher risk of developing colon cancer, the virologist told the news agency. It is striking that colon cancer is very common in some countries and relatively rare in others. „It is striking that hardly any European-Asian beef is eaten in those countries where colon cancer is rare“, reports to Hausen.

The scientist suspects that viruses of this specific cattle are associated with the development of colorectal cancer. If a person drinks raw or incompletely cooked beef, the viruses enter the body and could continue to be active there. „However, whether they lead to infections in humans, we can not say clearly yet“, explains the virologist who is currently studying bovine blood. „We have indeed been able to isolate a whole range of new viruses, but we do not know yet whether they actually play a role in colon cancer.“ Zur Hausen points out, however, that the connections between diet and cancer are very complex. „No infection that leads to cancer, does it all on its own - there must still be added damage in the genome of the affected cells.“

Many cancers could be avoided through healthy eating
At the end of 2011, scientists led by Max Parkin from the Center for Cancer Prevention at Queen Mary University in London published a study claiming that 43 percent of cancers in the UK were due to an unhealthy lifestyle and were thus preventable. In their evaluation of numerous epidemiological studies, the results in the journal „British Journal of Cancer Research“ published, it has been shown that an unhealthy lifestyle, which includes alcohol, nicotine, high fat diet and pronounced sunbathing, is associated with the development of many cancers. Accordingly, the risk of cancer could be significantly reduced by a healthier lifestyle. The researchers also blamed pollutants in the workplace for many cancers. (Ag)