- Consuming junk food such as burgers and pizzas linked to an increase risk of developing cancer even if you are a normal weight.
- New research conducted only on women but studies can be extended to men too.
Recent research has shown an association of developing cancer in post-menopausal women and their levels of consumption of what is called junk food. Junk food is usually taken to be burgers, pizzas, chicken nuggets and other types of fast food along with sugary beverages. A great deal of research has already shown links between eating such foods which are more formally called ‘“energy dense foods”, to cancer and obesity.
The study now extends the evidence to links between similar levels of consumption and those who would even be considered slim let alone of normal weight, let alone obese. The level of risk is roughly a 10 per cent increase even among women of normal weight. Whilst the research was conducted in women, the association is extended to men given findings from previous studies.
Evidence for this finding was garnered from 90,000 postmenopausal women in the USA as part of the Women’s Health Initiative. Diet and incidence of cancer were monitored in the course of the study.
The area of research interest was developing an understanding of how the ratio of energy to food weight, which is otherwise known as dietary energy density (DED) contributes to cancer risk. This particular factor has not been explored to any great extent until now. The DED is a useful working measure of food quality and the relationship between calories and nutrients.
DED was identified from earlier work because of knowledge about those who became overweight and the links to rising values of BMI (Body mass Index). There is a suspicion that a higher than average DED even for women of normal weight causes metabolic changes independent of body weight.
The study is limited. Only information from postmenopausal women was collected although it is reasonable to make extrapolations. It is uncertain how energy-dense foods affect other healthy weight demographics or indeed what impact they have on other factors related to cancer. Having said this, the results suggest that postmenopausal women may want to monitor their diet, even if they are already a healthy weight or are slim.
Professor Cynthia Thomson, the study lead investigator at the University of Arizona in the USA, stated:
“Among normal-weight women, higher DED may be a contributing factor for obesity-related cancers. Importantly, DED is a modifiable risk factor. Nutrition interventions targeting energy density as well as other diet-related cancer preventive approaches are warranted to reduce cancer burden among postmenopausal women.”
“This finding suggests that weight management alone may not protect against obesity-related cancers.”
Interest in how cancer can develop because of excessive types of diet has been of interest for many years. Obesity is now firmly associated with particular types of cancer – thirteen to be precise. Such a study might persuade people to choose lower DED foods even when they are have a healthy weight.
As Emma Shields, Cancer Research UK’s health information officer, is quoted:
“This study does not convincingly show that eating junk food has a direct effect on cancer risk beyond its impact on people’s weight. But high-calorie foods like fast food can promote weight gain, and obesity can cause 13 types of cancer, so it is a good idea to keep these foods just for occasional treats.”
Clearly, there is some caution to be exercised regarding these findings.
Being overweight or obese has long been recognized as a major risk factor for several types of cancer. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 3.5 percent of new cases of cancer in men, and 9.5 percent of new cancer cases in women, as a result of being overweight or obese in a 2012 study. This percentage varies depending on the type of cancer; in one example about 54 percent of female gallbladder cancer cases in 2012 were attributed to being overweight or obese.
Although it’s not clear why obesity is linked to so many different types of cancer, researchers believe it may be due, in part, to the chronic state of inflammation obesity causes throughout the body. This disturbs the normal production of certain hormones, which can, in turn, increases cancer risk.
Reference: Thomson, C.A., Crane, T.E., Garcia, D.O., et al. (2017) Association between Dietary Energy Density and Obesity-Associated Cancer: Results from the Women’s Health Initiative. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics .
It is thought that changes in the type of food eaten could reduce an estimated 30 per cent of certain types of cancer. That doesn’t mean that energy rich foods should be altogether abandoned, just enjoyed from time to time.
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