Informed archive

Informed 37

Bowel cancer: awareness of risk factors and screening
needs to rise
With Bowel Cancer Awareness month taking place in April, we review the risk factors for this highly preventable cancer and ask a health promotion specialist from a bowel cancer screening centre about ways to increase awareness.

Highlights from AICR annual research conference
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), a member of the WCRF global network of charities, held its 20th annual research conference at the end of 2009. Here are some of the highlights.

Independent mobility and child physical activity
The PEACH Project (Personal Environmental Associations with Children’s Health) aims to investigate how a young person's environment (physical, school or home) may affect their levels of physical activity, eating behaviours and, subsequently, levels of obesity.

Diet and breast cancer update in the EPIC study
Research on eating habits, which might influence breast cancer risk either independently or in relation to known risk factors, is ongoing. Here, we report on the findings from two studies in the multi-centre European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC).

What are the influences on adolescents' diet?
Teenage years are a crucial period of transition to adulthood and the dietary habits during this stage can have both short- and long-term effects. A recent issue of Public Health Nutrition was entirely dedicated to the dietary choices of teenagers.

Being green would make us healthy
The latest report on Health and Climate Change was based on a series of studies published in the Lancet, which showed that decreasing greenhouse gases might result in additional benefits to health.

NHS plans to support all cancer survivors by 2012
An update on the first year of the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI) was published by the Department of Health and Macmillan Cancer Support earlier this year. Their vision is that, by 2012, all cancer survivors will receive support and improved care.

Financial incentives to lose weight
One of the first long-term pilots of a weight loss incentive system has been completed by NHS Kent this February. The trial was commissioned by the Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust and used a programme, Pounds for Pounds, developed by the private firm Weight Wins.

 

Informed 36

The truth about processed meat and bowel cancer risk
Recently there was global media interest in our advice to parents to avoid giving children ham in packed lunches. Here we talk about the scientific evidence behind this Recommendation, explain what processed meat is and how it raises the risk of bowel cancer.

First WCRF/AICR update on breast cancer
The Continuous Update Project is a WCRF/AICR initiative in collaboration with Imperial College London that aims to keep the evidence from the Second Expert Report updated. The first update from the project on breast cancer was recently released – find out more about the results.

Improving physical activity in the community
Promoting active lifestyles should be at the core of health professional practice according to Health Secretary Andy Burnham, who spoke during the build up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Low physical activity levels cost the NHS £3,000 every minute so why not explore practical ways to help patients get fit.

The big South Asian health challenge
Experienced dietitian, broadcaster and best-selling author, Azmina Govindji, explains why South Asians today face such a big health challenge and shares her top tips for a balanced diet for people from this community.

Recognising good science in the media
A YouGov survey commissioned by WCRF UK found that 52 per cent of people think scientists are always changing their minds about cancer. Also, 46 per cent said they generally do not trust news stories about what increases or decreases cancer risk. Read our advice for identifying good studies.

Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption
In autumn this year, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published the first report from the Council of Food Policy Advisors on food sustainability, public health and food policy. The report identified increasing fruit and vegetable intake as a health priority. Find out what you can advise patients.

Early food education for life-long healthy eating
The Food Standards Agency has recently published a new range of workbooks and downloadable resources to help young people learn about food and health. The new resources will hopefully help children improve their food knowledge and encourage them to eat healthily.

Breastfeeding reduces premenopausal breast cancer risk
In a large, prospective cohort study of premenopausal women, breastfeeding was protective against premenopausal breast cancer, especially in women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Read more about the study's findings.