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Health

Being overweight increases incidence of cancer

(139 Posts)
JessM Tue 17-Mar-15 07:21:46

Seriously overweight women have a significantly higher risk of some cancers including 2 of the most common - bowel and post-menopausal breast cancer.
Women seem to be getting bigger and bigger - what on earth could be done to halt or reverse this trend.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-31917876

crun Tue 17-Mar-15 18:57:34

Soon it’s difficult to answer that because it would depend on your idea of what counts as processed, what counts as healthy, and how much of them you’re proposing to eat. As Ben Goldacre said “there’s no such thing as an unhealthy meal, only an unhealthy diet”. I don’t eat chocolates, cakes, or the sort of ready meals that you put in the microwave because they cost megabucks and contain very few calories. (The price of this per calorie is about 5.6 times higher than the average I’m paying for an evening meal.)

Here are a few examples:

Mexican Burger
Vegetable Burger
Cauli Cheese Grills
Sausages
Pasty
Quiche
Pizza

but I also cook things like chlli con carne, spag bol, curry, roast veg, roast chicken, stew etc.

People often mention salt but my salt intake is a third lower than the average Brit, and 35% of that comes from bread not ‘junk’ food, even though I eat the lowest salt bread on the market. About 30% of the fat in my diet comes from nuts. See what I mean about jumping to conclusions?

Maggiemaybe Tue 17-Mar-15 19:06:32

All my food today was made from scratch, but I would have been much better off with Ninathenana's daily menu, which seemed pretty health-conscious to me. For lunch I was force-fed samosas, lamb and potato curry, chicken curry and chapatis by my friend, as a thank you for teaching her how to use the internet. Plus home-made pistachio and almond biscuits with every cuppa (so 4). For tea I have finished off the Eton mess my DD1 made and brought over for our Mother's Day lunch - I'm supposed to have given up sweet stuff for Lent, but can't abide waste blush. I still have a quiz night supper to try to resist at 10pm. I'm kept in check by the 5:2 regime and after a day like today actually look forward to my fast days!

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 17-Mar-15 19:07:26

The fish pie would be a blooming sight healthier than pasty or pizza. Those links don't work btw.

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 17-Mar-15 19:08:08

that was to crun

Mamie Tue 17-Mar-15 19:09:38

Absentgrandma no doubt the doctor would have told him grin. You can guarantee that it would have been a French wine anyway.
My OH had gout a few times; the trigger was oily fish!

soontobe Tue 17-Mar-15 19:23:23

The links are working for me thanks.
I take what you mean by an unhealthy diet rather than a unhealthy meal.

I too am aware how much fat[is it healthy fat?] that there is in nuts.
I am not bothered much about salt. I have low blood pressure, and about the only useful advice seems to be to have salt. We use a breadmaker[well husband does] so assume there is not that much salt in the bread.
I suspect my sugar intake is too high though.

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 17-Mar-15 19:32:30

Why don't they work for me? confused

crun I misunderstood you there. I thought that was a list of foods you do eat. Sorry.

soontobe Tue 17-Mar-15 19:43:09

I took it that she does eat the foods that she linked to above?

www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=266075169&sc_cmp=tp4_aff_1503186

www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=266075307&sc_cmp=tp4_aff_1503186

Do those links work for you, jingl?

Anya Tue 17-Mar-15 20:06:05

crun whatever floats your boat! I have a fondness for Excel too, but I usually use it for balancing books etc smile

Food wise if it's got more than one added ingredient, then to me it's processed. Pork is just pork, but ham is treated with salt for example. But unless it's organic the pork may have impurities too hmm such as growth hormones.

But not all processed food is equal. Formented foods such as aged cheeses, some yoghurt, sauerkraut are positively good for you IMO.

But it can all get too complicated, so each to their own.

absent Tue 17-Mar-15 20:08:34

I thought growth hormones were banned in the UK. Isn't that the reason why meat cannot be imported from the USA, much to the chagrin of American agribusiness?

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 17-Mar-15 20:09:24

Yeah. Those work. I'd eat 'em.

Anya Tue 17-Mar-15 20:21:54

I think you're correct absent that growth hormones have been phased out since 2012. Well spotted, but there are restricted antibiotics, etc which farmers are supposed to allow time to leave the animal's system before the go for slaughter.

Some farmers are more conscientious than others about thud.

loopylou Tue 17-Mar-15 20:37:32

I believe Abbatoir inspectors will check for antibiotics and it would be very unusual for any farmer to try that, the penalties are high.

janeainsworth Tue 17-Mar-15 20:55:05

Mamie thank you for the link. I think the comment
'How can you make any industry responsible for policing itself ? It just doesn’t work.’ is the saddest indictment not only of the food industry but perhaps of society itself.

Perhaps I am hopelessly naive to expect it, but it seems to me that if industries (and professions) cannot be relied on to regulate themselves, not only does that mean that there is no ethical basis in society, but the cost, and the basis, of regulation falls to the Government of the day and ultimately the tax payer - it costs us all dearly both financially and in terms of the erosion of trust.

Jingle they look yummy envy

JessM Tue 17-Mar-15 21:37:10

Obviously the food industry lobbies politicians and influences policies.
But would legislation help?

Does anyone think that any of these measures would help:
taxing sweet stuff
restricting advertising of confectionery or "junk foods"
health warnings on high calorie products like coke

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 17-Mar-15 22:05:18

Plain wrappers for Freddos for starters.

Riverwalk Tue 17-Mar-15 23:44:21

Absent meat from the US is not banned in the UK - there are a number of London restaurants that take pride in selling USDA steaks e.g. Christopher's Grill in Covent Garden.

thatbags Wed 18-Mar-15 06:46:27

Do seriously overweight men have the same (or similar in the case of post-menopausal) higher risk of some cancers, jess?

JessM Wed 18-Mar-15 07:17:23

Yes. There is a mountain of interesting stuff on the Cancer Research UK website. e.g.

scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/11/20/the-risk-factor-new-evidence-on-obesity-and-prostate-cancer/

I think the info in the OP will have been based on a particular study involving women. CRUK website somewhat over- comprehensive at times and I can't find it.

Grannyknot Wed 18-Mar-15 07:18:35

soon - crun is a he not a she.

Anya Wed 18-Mar-15 07:27:06

I've lost 3lbs since Monday hmm this C the C diet must be working, though I expect it's mainly fluid.

Anya Wed 18-Mar-15 07:27:29

Or my scales are on the blink

Anya Wed 18-Mar-15 07:28:21

Wonder what will happen if I have cupcake today? Will it all go back on?

Fili Wed 18-Mar-15 07:44:20

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Anya Wed 18-Mar-15 07:48:39

That's the second time you've put a link to that website Fili Are you aware of the rules about advertising on GN? hmm