About Diet, Nutrition,
Physical Activity and Cancer Prevention
10 Recommendations for Cancer Prevention
The recommendations are based on the 2007 Expert Report
from the World Cancer Research Fund UK. It contains the
most comprehensive research available on cancer prevention.
They outline the diet, physical activity and weight management
steps you can take to reduce your risk. Also, choosing
not to smoke (or giving up if you do) can play a big role
in reducing cancer. Together, these factors have the potential
to prevent many cancer cases in the UK and around the world.
1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every
day
3. Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense
foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar,
or low in fiber, or high in fat)
4. Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole
grains and pulses such as beans
5. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork
and lamb) and avoid processed meats
6. If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for
men and 1 for women a day
7. Limit consumption of salty foods and food processed
with salt (sodium)
8. Don't use supplements to protect against cancer
(Recommendations 9 and 10 don't apply
to everyone, but if they are relevant to you, it's best
to follow them.)
9. It's best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for
up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods
10. After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the
recommendations for cancer prevention
The Report found growing evidence that
maintaining a healthy weight through diet and physical
activity may help to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
And, always remember – do not smoke or chew tobacco. Smoking
or using tobacco in any form increases the risk of cancer
and other serious diseases.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community's
Public Health Programme
The SPC Public
Health Programme is dedicated to improving the health, and therefore the
future, of all Pacific Islanders. PHP strives to promote
and protect the health of Pacific Island peoples. It advocates
a holistic approach to health, supports sustainable capacity
development, and facilitates and promotes collaboration
with partners. To find out more about the Healthy
Pacific Lifestyle from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community
(SPC-HPLS) please
click here
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community has developed a series of
booklets and newsletters focusing on traditional pacific
crops, food security and health issues. Some of these publications
can be found here on the Pacificcaner website, more at
the SPC resource library.
SPC Leaflets
Leaflets (six
pages) promoting pacific foods include cooking tips, nutritional
information. Updated leaflets promoting Pacific Foods for
the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Healthy
Pacific Lifestyle Section will be included over time
on their website. Please click on the name to download
the pdf file.
Other leaflet are currently only available
online. (Updated versions will become available on the
SPC website as pdf files over time). They can be viewed
in English and French. Click
here to go to the FAO library
Pacific
Island Nutrition
PIN – includes regional news, updates on research and locally
available resources. The focus of the newsletter is lifestyle,
health and nutrition. It is produced in both French and
English, every quarter and distributed throughout the region.
You can download or view copies from
the SPC site in either PDF format or as a text only (word)
document. To view and download the PIN copies available please
click here. If you would like to view an example of
PIN please download PIN Issue 21, that
covers tobacco prevention and betel chewing and cancer
among other issues. Click here
to download the pdf (2.2 MB)
SPC
Fact Sheets SPC Fact sheets offer a quick 2 to 4
pages overview on key issues. Kept in simple black and
white, SPCFact Sheets can
be printed and used as handouts, student resources or
photocopied for distribution. Click on the file to download
the pdf version.
Every day you hear nutrition messages
from the media and sort through information from advertisers
who want you to buy their products. Some products are healthy,
but others may be lacking in nutrients. Sometimes it's
hard to sort it all out. What's important is to follow
the basics: eat a healthy diet by choosing a variety of
fruits and vegetables. Avoid fats, added sugars, and salt.
Eat in moderation.
Eating right makes you feel good, and
it's important for reducing your risk for diseases like
heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, stroke, and osteoporosis.
In fact, healthier eating could reduce cancer deaths in
the United States by as much as 35 percent. On the website
HealthierUS.gov, you will find the information you need
to eat healthier. Please
click here
Over the last 20 years new discoveries
in nutrition have provided great insights. “Eat fruits
and vegetables every day” is an interactive website by
the CDC. Click
here please
In nutritional advice it is always
a ‘cup’ of this or a ‘cup’ of that in a serving. What counts
as the famous “cup”?to find out please
click here
To analyze your own food choices an
interactive game from the(CDC) can be
a fun and easy way to take a fresh look at your plate. Please
click here
NCI Resources
Lifestyle and Prevention
This section includes links to resources and fact sheets
related to diet, food, and nutrition, and to NCI web
sites containing specifics about cancer causes and risk
factors. To go to the NCI website please
click here
Energy Balance: Weight and
Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
To go to the NCI website please
click here
Nutrition in Cancer Care (PDQ®)
Overview of Nutrition in Cancer Care
Cancer and cancer treatments may cause nutrition-related
side effects.
To go to the NCI website please
click here
MANUALS
AND SCIENTIFIC TEXTS
WHO: Global Strategy
on Diet, Physical Activity and Health Healthy diets and regular, adequate physical activity
are major factors in the promotion and maintenance of good
health throughout the entire life course.
Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are two of the
main risk factors for raised blood pressure, raised blood
glucose, abnormal blood lipids, overweight/obesity, and
for the major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases,
cancer, and diabetes. Please
click here.
Recommendations for Cancer
Prevention
World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK), 2007. 18 pages, (pdf
2MB)
An invaluable resource for reducing your risk, this booklet
gives an overview of the 10 recommendations and the evidence
behind them. To download the pdf please
click here
Solving the Diet-Cancer Mystery
World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK), 2007. 9 pages, (pdf
939k)
How do we know that diet is linked to cancer? This booklet
explains how scientific studies can provide clues by giving
and overview of what kind of studies provide what kind
of clues. To download the pdf please
click here
SUMMARY: Food, Nutrition,
Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global
Perspective
World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer
Research (WCRF/AICR), Washington DC: AICR, 2007. 16 pages
(pdf 1.2MB)
This summary provides an abbreviated version of the full
Report. It highlights the wealth of information and data
studied by the Panel and is designed to give readers an
overview of the key issues contained within the Report,
notably the process, the synthesis of the scientific evidence,
and the resulting judgements and recommendations. To download
the pdf please
click here
• To download the report’s summary in
other languages than English, please
click here
Second Expert Report: Food,
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer:
a Global Perspective
World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer
Research (WCRF/AICR), Washington DC: AICR, 2007. 537 Pages.
Note: PDF file of the complete report is 12 MB in size
Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention
of Cancer: a Global Perspective, is the most current
and comprehensive analysis of the literature on diet,
physical activity and cancer. It builds on the
foundation, first established by the WCRF global network
in 1982, to analyze, interpret and make public the
available scientific evidence to help individuals to
reduce their risk of developing cancer.
This work began in 1982 when the American
Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) took the US National
Academy of Science expert Report ‘Diet and Cancer” and
sought permission to print and distribute 30,000 copies
to scientists, policy makes and health professionals in
the USA. As a result, in 2001, WCRF/AICR set itself a new
objective: to systematically review and assess the body
of evidence on diet, physical activity and cancer and to
publish a second expert report. This second expert report
is the largest study of its kind and its conclusions are
as definitive as the available evidence allows.
To download copy of the report click
here: (Note: PDF file of the complete report is 12
MB in size!)
The Second Expert Report by
chapter (PDF files not on PacificCancer yet!)
can be found on their website. Please
click here:
Introductory Pages
Part 1 Intro
Chapter 1: International variations and trends
Chapter 2: The cancer process
Chapter 3: Judging the evidence
Part 2 Intro
Chapter 4: Foods and drinks
Chapter 5: Physical activity
Chapter 6: Body composition, growth, and development
Chapter 7: Cancers
Chapter 8: Determinants of weight gain, overweight and
obesity
Chapter 9: Cancer survivors
Chapter 10: Findings of other reports
Chapter 11: Research issues
Part 3 Intro
Chapter 12: Public health goals and personal recommendations
Appendix
Glossary
References
Index
Fold Outs:
The Panel's judgements
The cancer process and summary recommendations
Errors and Omissions
Diet, food supply and obesity
in the Pacific
World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western
Pacific, 2003. 70 pages, (pdf 320K)
The objective of this paper is to review documented evidence
and examine the relationships between the food supply,
dietary patterns and obesity in Pacific countries. Obesity
and consumption of imported foods seem to be an urban phenomenon
in the Pacific. A suitable definition for a recommended
proportion of fat in a national diet has been established.
Before European contact, the food behaviour of the people
of the Pacific region may have remained the same for millennia.
The main staples were root crops. To download the pdf please
click here
American Cancer Society Guidelines
on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention
Reducing
the Risk of Cancer With Healthy Food Choices and Physical
Activity*
Lawrence H. Kushi, ScD, Tim Byers, et al. and The American
Cancer Society 2006 Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines
Advisory Committee. CA Cancer J Clin 2006; 56:254-281.
30 pages (pdf 356K)
The American Cancer Society (ACS) publishes Nutrition and
Physical Activity Guidelines to serve as a foundation for
its communication, policy, and community strategies and
ultimately, to affect dietary and physical activity patterns
among Americans. These Guidelines, published every 5 years,
are developed by a national panel of experts in cancer
research, prevention, epidemiology, public health, and
policy, and as such, they represent the most current scientific
evidence related to dietary and activity patterns and cancer
risk. To download the pdf please
click here
Choices
for Good Health American
Cancer Society Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity
for Cancer Prevention. Information for patients (can be
used as a handout).
CA Cancer J Clin 2006 56: 310-312. 4 pages (pdf 192K).
To download the pdf please
click here
Report: FAO/SPC/WHO Pacific
Islands Food Safety and Quality Consultation
Convened by : World Health Organization Regional Office
for the Western Pacific : co-sponsored by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Secretariat
of the Pacific Community, Nadi, Fiji, 11-15 November 2002.
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2003, 55 pages
(pdf 215K). To download the pdf please
click here
Healthy Marketplaces in the
Western Pacific: Guiding future Action
Applying a Settings Approach to the Promotion of Health
in Marketplaces
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific 2004. 39 pages
(pdf 5.4MB)
These guidelines aim to provide national, provincial and
local authorities, mayors, city administrators, health
professionals, nongovernmental organizations, and market
communities with practical information on how to initiate
a Healthy Marketplace programme that draws on the strategies
identified in the Ottawa Charter and address the physical,
mental and social elements of health. To doenload the pdf please
click here
MORE
ONLINE RESOURCES ABOUT DIET AND CANCER
The Island Food Community of
Pohnpei
is a non-profit chartered nongovernmental
organization (NGO) in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.
It’s vision is to live in a productive environmentally
sound island where a diversity of locally grown island
food is produced and consumed, providing food security,
sustainable development, economic benefits, self-reliance,
improved health, cultural preservation, and human dignity,
and at the same time protecting the natural resources.
To doenload their brochure (pdf 342K) please
click here.
• Please visit their
“Publications” link for a wealth of information. Please
click here
Eating Right, Living Well
By the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health,
a clinical center of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
An easy, but powerful way for you to reduce your risk for
developing colorectal and other cancers-and to maintain
your health from the inside out-is to take a few sensible
steps to eating right and living well. To get to the website please
click here
Proceedings of the sixth OCEANIAFOODS
Conference
Brisbane, Australia 8 - 9 February 2002, Published December
2003 by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. 90 pages
(pdf 852K).
The sixth meeting of OCEANIAFOODS was held in conjunction
with the Second International Total Diet Workshop, recognising
that, in the Oceania region, those working in the area
of the nutrient composition of food are often also involved
in many other aspects of the composition of foods, including
studies on contaminants. To download the pdf please
click here
The Pacific Tracker (PacTrac)
is
an online dietary assessment tool that provides information
on your diet quality, related nutrition messages and links
to nutrient information. Please
click here
FLYERS
AND BROCHURES
Pacific Island Nutrition (PIN)
Published by Healthy
Pacific Lifestyle Section at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community
includes regional news, updates on research and locally
available resources. The focus of the newsletter is lifestyle,
health and nutrition. It is produced in both French and
English, every quarter and distributed throughout the region.
To get to the HPLS archive please
click here
The Healthy Pacific Lifestyle
Section (Secretariat of the Pacific Community) produces
a range of resources such as posters, leaflets, information
booklets and videos for use in the Pacific. Most of the
visual resources are available in English and French.
To get to the HPLS list of available publications please
click here
Choices for Good Health
American
Cancer Society Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity
for Cancer Prevention. Information for patients (can be
used as a handout). CA Cancer J Clin 2006 56: 310-312.
4 pages (pdf 192K). To download the pdf please
click here
Pacific Island Indigenous Food
Poster
(pdf 556K) is the fourth in a series
by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and
Environment, and the International Development Research
Centre. To download the poster please
click here To go to the FAO website with all poster and
high resolution pdf files for printing (over 500
MB!) please
click here
Cancer – the food factor
Association for International Cancer Research, Spotlight
appeal information guide. 6 pages (pdf 232K). To download
the pdf please
click her
BOOKS
AND PUBLISHED LITERATURE
Food, Drinks and Life
The South Pacific Community Nutrition Training Project
1990, 114 Pages ISBN-9820304180, $6.00. To go to the
Univesity of the South Pacific Bookstore, please
click here
This book is a basic introduction to food, drinks, and
life in the Pacific. It also includes the role food choice
plays in customs, ways of life, the economy, and primary
health care. It is part of a series published to improve
the health of Pacific Islanders. Each book includes up
to date information on ways people in the Pacific can make
good food choices and lead healthy lives. Stories, drawings,
summaries, and questions are included to make the information
interesting, relevant and easy to read.
Nutrition and an active life:
from knowledge to action
Pan American Health Organization, 2005.Wilma B. Freire,
editor. Scientific and technical publication (PAHO); no.
612. 247pages (pdf 1.3MB). To download the file please
clcik her
Carotenoid-rich bananas: A
potential food source for alleviating vitamin A deficiency
This review article points out that bananas are an important
food for many people in the world. Thus, banana cultivars
rich in provitamin A carotenoids may offer a potential
food source for alleviating vitamin A deficiency, particularly
in developing countries.
Lois Englberger, Ian Darnton-Hill, Terry Coyne, Maureen
H. Fitzgerald,
and Geoffrey C. Marks. Food and Nutrition Bulletin,
vol. 24, no. 4, 2003, The United Nations University. 16
pages, (pdf 340K). To download the pdf please
click here
Disclaimer:
The Pacificcancer.org Web site provides links to other
Internet sites and pdf files for informational purposes
and the convenience of its users. When users select
a link to an external Web site, they are leaving the
Pacificcancer.org Web site and are subject to the privacy
and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the
external site.
Pacificcancer.org does not
endorse organizations that sponsor linked, external Web
sites. In addition, Pacificcancer.org does not endorse
products or services that such organizations may offer.
Furthermore, Pacificcancer.org does not control or guarantee
the currency, accuracy, relevance, or completeness of
information found on linked, external Web sites
