AICR Comments On Recent Findings of Nurses and Health Professionals Study on Fruits, Vegetables and Colon Cancer

American Institute for Cancer Research
Tuesday, 31 October 2000

Statement of Melanie Polk, R.D., M.M.Sc. Director of Nutrition Education for the American Institute for Cancer Research

We at AICR wish to stress that the latest results from the combined Nurses and Health Professionals Study, published November 1 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, should not be misinterpreted or overstated. The study cannot and does not make any kind of definitive statement about the role of diet upon the risk of colon cancer. No single study, however large, can supplant the convincing evidence (derived from well over 249 studies worldwide) that argues for a clear link between diets high in fruits and vegetables and lower risk for cancer.

In fact, this study reveals something quite different - and surprising. According to the data, even our nurses and doctors aren't getting enough fruits and vegetables.

AICR recommends consuming five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day for optimum protection against cancer and a host of chronic diseases. However, less than 2% of the Nurses' study subjects reported consuming more than four servings of vegetables a day. Only 3% of the Health Professionals cohort said they ate more than four daily servings of fruit.

The data also reveal another topic of concern to nutrition educators. Those few study subjects who ate more fruits and vegetables consumed more calories overall. That's puzzling, because fruits and vegetables are low in calories. Because these foods often "push aside" other high-fat, high-calorie foods, diets that feature a variety of fruits and vegetables tend to be lower in overall calories. Perhaps, then, the study subjects simply added fruits and vegetables to their existing high-fat, high-calorie diets.

But fruits and vegetables belong at the center of the American plate, not the side. If they're used to take the place of foods and snacks that are high in calories and fat, it may be easier for people to manage their weight and maintain their health.

The fact that the study's respondents are nurses and health professionals - a group most of us would expect to be nutritionally aware - further underscores the urgent need for more and better-funded nutrition education.

We can't tell, from the data, whether the subjects were skimping on fruits and vegetables because they were ignorant of the protective importance of these foods, or if they possessed the nutritional knowledge but found it difficult to put that information into daily practice. That's why education efforts need to be comprehensive, involving both a general nutritional overview and real-world applications such as menu planning and tips for the quick and healthy preparation of food.

The American public looks to these men and women for health advice. But if, as this study suggests, even members of the medical profession are not getting enough fruits and vegetables - or downplaying their importance in the diet - the true extent of the challenge facing today's nutrition educators becomes clear.

For more information, or to contact American Institute for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.aicr.org