Study Finds Low-Fat Diet Won't Stop Cancer or Heart Disease

[Quixote1818]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/health/07cnd-fat.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1139374800&en=9fdd8d6b9954745d&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

[blue in ohio]

1. LET'S ALL GET FAT!!

Well then they can continue to overtax my cigs and put sg warnings on the packs but leave all of the
fast food heart cloggers alone.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Not quite

The study has several serious flaws in the methodology and sample group. All it really shows is that post-menopausal women who switch to a slightly lower fat diet late in life show no appreciable decrease in the incident of cancer over post-menopausal women who continue with the same diet they have eaten for many years. Also, the study made no distinction between "bad" fats, such as saturated fats and trans-fatty acids, and "good" fats such as olive oil or avocados.

There remains a very large body of evidence that when diet is changed to minimize "bad" fats and emphasize "good" fats, the earlier that change is made and the more consistently the changes are followed, the greater the benefits.

[Redbear]

4. No. The methodology was excellent, it is the media coverage that is flawed

The study had one purpose: would lowering total dietary fat (without any distinction about type of fat) protect against heart disease and cancer?

The definitive answer no.

Of course, most nutrition professionals were already pretty sure that was true. It is the excess saturated fat and trans fat in our diets that has been killing us. Unsaturated fats are vital to health.

The low-carb idea has been debunked. The low-fat idea has been debunked.

We are back to the old idea of a balanced diet, with the two additions that most of our fats should be unsaturated and exercise is a huge factor as well.

[KurtNYC]

6. well while it wasn't 'statistically significant' the last 3 paragraphs

reveal the some key points about the study and the results:

The difference in the percentage of fat consumed between the low fat group and the control group was only 6%-8. Eg. The low fat group ate a diet which was 29% fat (the study design was for this number to be 20%) and the control group ate a diet with 35% to 37% of its calories coming from fat on average.

And yet even this small difference was reflected in the stats:

The women on low-fat diets had a 9 percent lower rate of breast cancer; the incidence was 42 per thousand per year in women in the low-fat diet group, compared with 45 per thousand per year in women consuming their regular diet.

In other words an 8% reduction in the percentage of total calories from fat correlated to a 9 percent reduction in breast cancer rates.

Edit to add: As usual the media got it wrong. This is not a definitive "no" -- it is rather an inconclusive study that nonetheless points timidly toward what was suspected: that fat intake DOES affect cancer rates even in an 8 year period.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. Ah, thanks for the clarification

I haven't read the study results themselves yet, so I was going on the debate I've heard online and in the media.

[pecwae]

5. Many holes in this study

Wonder if the poultry industry is behind this anywhere?

[Stephanie]

10. really!

They did not distinguish between trans fats and olive oil? Who sponsored the study, Burger King?

[FloridaPat]

3. Dr. Atkins talked about a study done on 50,000 nurses decades ago.

They only thing they found was that a high fat diet let to more colon cancer I think it was. 1 out of 10 nurses who ate a lot of fat got that cancer. He was able to get the results and found that 3 our of 10 nurses on a low fat diet got breast cancer.

[KurtNYC]

8. I think you are talking about the ongoing Harvard Nurse Study

200,000 nurses are involved. This is what they have found so far on colon cancer in this massive study:

The data showed that exercise reduces the risk of colon cancer and heart disease, and vitamins with folate have a protective effect on the heart and colon. Women who eat less red meat also generally have a lower risk of colon cancer.

http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/02-01/study.html

The average annual rate of breast cancer in the USA is 135 cases of malignant cancer per 100,000 women or 0.135%. A rate of 3 in 10 (30%) would be 222 times higher than average.

http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa_05/pages/0411cancer.htm

I have studied this stuff as though my life depends on it.

[FloridaPat]

9. You are correct. It's hard to remember all these facts. It gets harder

every year.

[gauguin57]

7. Huh? Sorry, couldn't hear you ... I've got 3 donuts in my mouth.

Mfff ... mfffff ...