"Obesity is one of the risk factors of cancer"

This is what Prof. Keren Glanz, a global expert on health behaviors, said at a conference held yesterday at the University of Haifa: * Dr. Erna Braun-Apple from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa: "In Israel there are not enough budgets to deal with the problem" * Research in Sweden: consumption of sugary drinks increases the The risk of pancreatic cancer

"Obesity, which has become an epidemic in the Western world, is one of the risk factors for cancer, so ways must be found to deal with the problem - said Prof. Keren Glantz, a global expert in health behaviors from Emory University in the USA, today. In a lecture at a seminar on "cancer-preventing behaviors" held at the University of Haifa, Prof. Glanz added that unlike other factors - such as smoking, which is already gaining awareness and is on the decline - obesity is spreading.

Dr. Arena Braun-Apple from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa stated that Israel does not have enough budgets to fight the phenomenon and prevent it. "When I was a schoolgirl, everyone thought obesity was due to psychological problems. Today, when there are more and more people suffering from the problem, it is already clear that there must be other reasons," said Prof. Glanz, who noted that in recent years there has been a decrease in the number of smokers in the United States, but obesity Just going up. "This is an epidemic. An epidemic does not have to be contagious, the rate of its increase is what is important," said Prof. Glanz who focused on environmental elements and proper environmental planning that can prevent obesity. According to her, the trend in the western world is to watch more TV, spend more time in the car and eat out more.

"I don't know if there are any studies on the size of the portions served in Israel, but I know that the portions I received from the moment I landed here are huge. Returning to smaller portions could be one environmental solution to obesity. Proper planning of neighborhoods can also contribute. Some neighborhoods are built so that it is better to enter to drive than to go to the grocery store that is located a hundred meters from your door, so it is important to plan neighborhoods that are easy and convenient to walk from place to place. It is also important to plan safe play areas for children, so that parents do not They will be afraid to send them to play and in general to plan enough space for sports activities, even for adults. Another problem that contributes to obesity is that the meals that have a lot of calories are cheaper, so we see in many cases that precisely weak populations suffer from obesity," stated Prof. Glanz. "Israel is also going in a similar direction to that of the United States. Smoking is decreasing but overweight is increasing," noted Dr. Orna Brown-Apple from the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa. exercise and eat more correctly. It is true that the establishment in Israel is referring to the problem, but not enough budgets are being transferred to the issue and not enough ways are being tried to raise public awareness of the problem."

A new study reveals: consumption of sugary drinks increases the risk of pancreatic cancer

Prof. Eliezer Robinson, Chairman of the Cancer Society: maintaining a proper diet, partly by reducing the consumption of sugary drinks and physical activity, lowers the risk of the disease

The study was conducted at the Karolinska University Medical Center in Sweden, one of the leading cancer centers in the world, for 7.5 years, among 77,797 women and men aged 45-83. All subjects were defined as healthy people who had not been diagnosed with any type of cancer until the study was conducted, or had a history of diabetes. During the study period, the participants filled out questionnaires regarding their eating habits over the years and the researchers monitored their health status.

At the end of the study, it became clear that 131 of the participants in the study developed pancreatic cancer during it. 4% of women and 14% of men reported that they consume at least 5 sugary drinks a day. 7% of women and 13% of men reported that they drink at least 2 sugary drinks a day.

From the analysis of the results of the study, recently published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition", it appears that the risk of getting pancreatic cancer increased as the participants consumed more sugary drinks - including hot drinks to which sugar has been added - and fruit syrup or liftan (these are not diet drinks and the like that are artificially sweetened artificial). The risk of a healthy person who consumed sugary drinks, soft drinks or fruit syrup, of getting pancreatic cancer, was at least 1.5 times higher than the risk of a person who did not consume sugary drinks. Among those with additional risk factors such as being overweight or lacking physical activity, the risk of getting pancreatic cancer increased up to 1.9 times compared to a person who did not consume sugary drinks and fruits.

It should be noted that in the shorter term - from the analysis of the results of the study two years after it began - the risk of contracting pancreatic cancer was twice as high among consumers of sugary drinks and soft drinks.

"Previous studies have already found that obesity is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer and other types of cancer," explains Prof. Robinson, chairman of the Cancer Society. "According to this study, when sugar consumption is high, the levels of sugar entering the bloodstream increase. As a result, the pancreas overworks and secretes large amounts of insulin. Apparently, these cause changes in the pancreatic cells that can turn into cancer cells. The study once again proves the importance of maintaining a proper diet, a healthy weight and physical activity. It is important to start maintaining this at a young age, because children consume sugary drinks and gain weight as a result."

According to the data of the National Cancer Registry at the Ministry of Health, approximately 500 pancreatic cancer cases are discovered each year in Israel among the Jewish population. The incidence rate of pancreatic cancer in the Jewish population is about 10 patients per 100,000 people. This type of cancer is not common, and for the most part, the age of people who may get it ranges from 60 to 80 years old.

Pancreatic cancer does not cause symptoms for a long time and sometimes the symptoms may be vague and unclear. The most common symptoms are: pain, weight loss, the whites of the eye, itchy skin and more. Because of this, the cancer is usually detected at a late stage after it has spread throughout the body and leads to extremely high mortality rates. Studies conducted to date have found that smokers, and patients with chronic inflammation of the pancreas caused by prolonged consumption of alcohol - have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than the rest of the population.

The increasing information in the medical literature points to the importance of nutrition as a factor that may reduce or potentially increase the risk of the development of certain cancers.