Diets May Raise Cancer Risk for Poor, Urban Women

Diets May Raise Cancer Risk for Poor, Urban Women
FRIDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- It can be difficult for women inAmerica's inner cities to eat in ways that may help prevent cancer.
That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University study that lookedat the dietary habits of 156 black women living in 11 public housingcommunities in Washington, D.C.
The researchers found that about 61 percent of the women failed to meetmore than one of the five dietary goals suggested to reduce the risk ofdeveloping cancer: adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables; lowpercentage of fat intake; moderate caloric intake; no alcohol consumption;and adherence to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Healthy EatingIndex, a measure of overall quality of diet.
Less than 1 percent met all five dietary goals, and only 15 percentreported eating at least five servings of fruits or vegetables a day.
"Many women drank soda, and ate convenience and prepared foods, evenwhen they sat down with their families for a meal. Younger adults,especially, seem to lack the skills to build a well-balanced diet --skills that our survey shows that older generations of women stillpossess," Ann C. Klassen, an associate professor in the department ofhealth, behavior and society at Hopkins' Bloomberg School of PublicHealth, said in a prepared statement.
The study was scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the AmericanAssociation for Cancer Research conference on The Science of Cancer HealthDisparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, inAtlanta.
"African-American women, in general, face a worse cancer incidence andmortality rate than most other ethnic groups, and poor African-Americanwomen are at an even greater disadvantage. Improving diet is one effectiveway to help women lower their risk for developing cancer," Klassensaid.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about cancer prevention.