The notion that diet may influence
the risk of developing skin cancer seems not to hold up under
investigation, Australian researchers report.
According to their study in the journal BMC Cancer, high
levels of dietary fat do not increase --and may decrease --
the risk of skin cancer.
"While our study is intriguing, and is in agreement with
some other very large studies, we could not suggest that the
public's health would be enhanced by consuming more fat,"
Dr. Robert H. Granger from the Menzies Research Institute,
Hobart stated.
"Even if every study consistently showed that higher levels
of fat intake were protective of skin cancer, there are enough
negative health outcomes associated with high fat intake which
far offset any supposed advantages," he added.
Granger and his colleagues investigated, for the first time,
the association between dietary fat and the risk of skin cancer
in a population-based study of 652 patients with skin cancer
and 471 "controls" who did not.
Participants completed a questionnaire to assess fat intake.
Upon analysis of the data, the researchers found that higher
fat intake and higher waist-to-hip ratios were associated
with a reduced risk of skin cancers.
"Our results took us by surprise, as our working hypotheses
related to the findings from the only dietary intervention
study which showed that decreased fat consumption led to a
slight decreased risk of skin cancer," Granger said. "We cannot
think of a sensible mechanism by which increased fat could
be protective."
SOURCE: BMC Cancer, May 30, 2006.
Reference
Source 89
June
8, 2006
