Childhood Cancer Survivors With Poor Diet At Risk Of Chronic Illness

A new study suggests that most of the childhood cancer survivors tend to have a poor diet during their adulthood. An improper and poor diet can increase the risk of chronic illness among these childhood cancer survivors.

As per a report published by Medical News Today, a study was carried out by a group of researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, in collaboration with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee. The group studied on the link between childhood cancer treatment and the nutritional intake by the survivor during their adulthood.

The study collected the diet data of 2570 survivors of childhood cancer. Recently, the results were published in The Journal of Nutrition. Researchers found that most of the survivors consumed excessive sodium and so-called empty calories, which are major risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. According to Now.tufts.edu, Dr. Zhang, a lead researcher from Tufts University states, "When compared to existing dietary recommendations, we found that the childhood cancer survivors consumed below the recommended intake of fiber, magnesium, vitamin D, calcium and vitamin E.

Low fruit and vegetable consumption along with high intake of saturated fat can lead to coronary heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Not just childhood cancer survivors, but all individuals, should adopt a healthy diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains with a limited amount of red meat, sugar, and less fat. It can reduce the risk of developing second cancer and can also reduce the risk of developing chronic illness.

A healthy diet can improve the physical and mental condition of the childhood cancer survivors. A study on pediatric cancer survivors revealed that 50 percent of the patients developed a life-threatening chronic illness by the age of 50.  American Cancer Society exposed a study which revealed that more than half of the childhood cancer survivors underwent toxic treatments such as chest radiation and lung disease.

In short, a worse diet quality can increase the risk of developing cancer again along with severe chronic illness.