AICR Hails Local Efforts To Improve Health - Could Help Prevent Cancer In Large Numbers, Experts Say
"We need to change the environment that contributes to obesity," said AICR Nutrition Advisor Karen Collins, MS, RD. "Programs that provide access to healthy and fresh vegetables and fruit are a step in the right direction."
Collins noted that policies adopted in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans and other cities and towns across the U.S. make it easier for people to live by AICR's new, research-based recommendations for cancer prevention, published recently in the landmark report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective.
AICR's expert panel found, for example, that carrying excess body fat is convincingly linked to an increased risk of six types of cancer: pancreatic, colorectal, post-menopausal breast cancer, endometrial, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, and kidney cancer.
The AICR report also recommends incorporating more plant foods into the diet, cutting back on red and processed meat and aiming for at last 30 minutes of regular physical activity every day.
Here is how some local communities have taken action to help residents gain better access to vegetables and fruits. Go to http://www.aicr.org/localhealth for more examples.
- Philadelphia's Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) promotes active living and access to healthy foods. Within the past nine years Philadelphia had the second lowest number of supermarkets per capita in the US. Through working with The Food Trust, FFFI established itself as one of the top 50 public programs by opening new markets in poor areas and providing larger refrigerators to corner stores for produce storage. The program has also been hailed as one of three state-run initiatives in the US that provides access to healthy foods and encourages healthy living.
- San Francisco Food Systems worked with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Human Services Agency to pass a law allowing low-income families who use food stamps the ability to use them at local farmer's markets. In addition, quality of food in public schools has been tackled through the Grab 'n' Go breakfast program and a partnership with a company that contributes organic fruit to the school breakfast and lunch programs. During the summer months, five-thousand school children have access to healthy meals in their neighborhoods.
- Tulane University organized a campaign in New Orleans that focused on access to healthy and fresh foods for residents. According to the Prevention Research Center at Tulane, there are more than 18,500 residents per grocery store in Orleans Parish. This figure is more than double the national US average of 8,800. A task force called the New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee was established as a conglomeration of grocers, health professionals, advocates, bankers and others in order to make specific recommendations regarding access to fresh vegetables and fruits. They've explored multiple options, including tax incentives for selling fresh foods and public transportation to get to the markets.
"It's estimated that following AICR's recommendations about diet, physical activity and weight could prevent about one-third of all cancers," said Collins. "There will be about 1.4 million cases of cancer that will occur in the U.S. this year.
"Simply by making everyday changes to what we eat and how much we move, we could prevent about 470,000 cases of cancer this year alone - that's roughly the population of a city the size of Atlanta, Sacramento, or Miami," Collins said.
The federal government has also developed health campaigns to encourage a healthy diet, nutrition knowledge and access to additional resources. These include the USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Program that grants fresh and dried fruit to specific schools, the FDA's Spot the Block nutrition label program that is aimed at "tweens" (ages 9-13) and a federal program known as Child and Adult Care Food Program that gives healthy snacks and meals to children and adults in day care.
On November 13, 2008, AICR will publish a policy report to take the hard science of the expert report and place it into a public policy context. Focus on how governments can facilitate individual behavior change to lower cancer risk.
Has your town or city put any policies on the books to help citizens like you eat healthier, get more activity and lower risk for cancer and other chronic disease? If so, we'd like to hear about it - send an email to communications@aicr.org, with a brief description of the way your local government is encouraging a better, healthier way of life. Write "Policy for Prevention" in the subject line.
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is the cancer charity that fosters research on the relationship of nutrition, physical activity and weight management to cancer risk, interprets the scientific literature and educates the public about the results. It has contributed more than $86 million for innovative research conducted at universities, hospitals and research centers across the country. AICR has published two landmark reports that interpret the accumulated research in the field, and is committed to a process of continuous review. AICR also provides a wide range of educational programs to help millions of Americans learn to make dietary changes for lower cancer risk. Its award-winning New American Plate program is presented in brochures, seminars and on its website, http://www.aicr.org. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.
American Institute for Cancer Research
AICR localã apreciazã eforturile de îmbunãtãþire a sãnãtãþii - ar putea ajuta la prevenirea cancerului în numãr mare, spun experþii - AICR Hails Local Efforts To Improve Health - Could Help Prevent Cancer In Large Numbers, Experts Say - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate