Study Ties Sweet Snacks to Bowel Cancer

A new study conducted by researchers at Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities suggests that snacking on sugary junk food such as cakes, chocolates and biscuits including fizzy drinks elevates the risk of bowel cancer.

For this study researchers took into consideration factors such as smoking, diet and levels of physical activity in participant who were victims of bowel cancer. This is the first study that ties fatty and sugary snacks to bowel tumors.

Bowel cancer also known as colon or rectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. In the year 2009, 136,717 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and 51,848 people died from it.  It affects both men and women and regular screening tests after the age of 50 can save 60 percent of the deaths.

The researchers worked on the data collected from the Scottish Colorectal Cancer study, which included 2,063 patients suffering from bowel cancer and 2,776 participants from Scotland who were in the control group.

The latest finding is based on a previous study that associates diet to bowel cancer. The study focused on two diet patterns; one that included fruits, vegetables and healthy food and the other that had high fat, sugar and meat intake. They saw that the diet that included processed meat like sausages and bacon elevated the odds of bowel cancer and the healthy dietary pattern didn't have any link with bowel cancer. 

The researchers analyzed more than 170 foods that included fruits, vegetables, meat and fish. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their diet.

They noticed that those who snacked on high energy snack food such as desserts, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, crisps and nuts were 18 percent more likely to suffer the risk of developing bowel cancer, reports Daily Mail.

This was true when they considered two factors known to increase the risk of bowel cancer, namely obesity and lack of physical exercise.

"While the positive association between a diet high in sugar and fat and colorectal cancer does not automatically imply 'cause and effect', it is important to take on board what we've found - especially as people in industrialised countries are consuming more of these foods," said Dr Evropi Theodoratou, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences.

The study  was published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention.