The summary of a workshop cosponsored by the Nutrition Coordinating Committee of the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control on this topic was recently published. Some points of interest:
The concept of desirable body weight as defined by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Table (compiled in 1959 and updated in 1983) remains valid. Obesity is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Weight gain after adolescence and duration of obesity were positively and significantly associated with cardiovascular risk in both sexes.
Even mild degrees of overweight are associated with a high mortality rate. In the 40-49 age group, men whose weight was 120-129 percent of the desirable weight on the Metropolitan table had double the mortality rate of those whose weight was 100-110 percent of the desirable weight.
Elevated mortality from cardiovascular disease in low-weight American men is mainly attributed to cigarette smoking. Since 1975 the American Cancer Society has held four national research conferences on nutrition and cancer. During 1985 the ACS will sponsor a fifth conference and has committed $18 million to 24 grants wholly or partly devoted to nutrition research.
The Society's current anticancer dietary recommendations are:
- Avoid obesity
- Reduce total fat intake to 30 percent of calories
- Eat more high-fiber foods like whole grains, fruits and vegetables
- Include foods rich in vitamin A and C in the daily diet
- Include "cruciferous" vegetables in the diet (those with cross-shaped leaves surrounding their flowers, such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower)
- Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages
- Avoid consumption of salt-cured, smoked and nitrite-cured foods.
