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American Morning

Fat and Cancer

Aired April 24, 2003 - 08:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Important new findings about the link between body weight and cancer, this from the American Cancer Society, an extensive study, 16 years now. It's studying nearly a million people, found that overweight women are at a greater risk for cancer of the uterus, kidney, cervix, breast, gall bladder, pancreas and esophagus. Obesity in men is linked to cancers to the gall bladders, the colon, the rectum, stomach, pancreas, liver and prostate. It is comprehensive in this study, as we mentioned, going back to 1982. Want to talk more about it right now, the correlation between pounds lost and lives saved with Dr. Dean Ornish. His new book is titled "Eat More, Weigh Less." He's live this morning on the West Coast in San Francisco.
Thank you, doctor, for being with us. Your initial reaction to the findings here is what?

DR. DEAN ORNISH, AUTHOR, "EAT MORE, WEIGH LESS": Well, I think it's a very important study and it's a very hopeful study. Because what it shows is that losing weight could prevent one out of six cancer deaths, or over 90,000 people who otherwise would have died every year. You know, genetics plays a role in cancer, but you can't do much about changing your parents. But this is something we can really do something about, and it can make a huge difference. It's a definitive study, and it's really exciting and it gives us all a lot of hope.

HEMMER: Exciting, and I think also the point you want to make in all of this is this is actually you something you can do about, in terms of changing your diet and changing the way you live your life. I think it's really critical. Before we get on that point, I think it's really critical. We can show our viewers what this study found as it relates to women. Obese women, it says, are six times more likely to get uterine cancer, three times more likely cervical cancer, twice more likely to get breast cancer. Women watching this story should know what from this?

ORNISH: Well, it's not just women, because men also can reduce their risk of prostate cancer, colon cancer, really most cancers across the board with few exceptions, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are linked to what we eat and how we live our lives, and this is something we can change, and so if we lose weight, if we change our diet, we can help prevent not just one or a few kinds of cancers, but most kinds of cancers. One out of six can be prevented, 90,000 cases a year. That's huge.

HEMMER: What do you take as the weight goes up relative to obesity, the cancer rate goes up right with it? Do we know why the correlation, why the relation is that way?

ORNISH: I think it's probably both the cause and effect. In other words, people who eat a diet high in fat, particularly high in saturated fat, animal protein, are more likely to be overweight. And so there is an associated finding. It may be the obesity is a reflection of the diet and it's the diet itself that may promote cancer.

But we also know that anyone who's overweight for whatever reason is more likely to convert more estrogen to form, which can itself promote cancer. Again, this is something we can do something about, by diet and exercise.

HEMMER: I want to show viewers the optimal diet you have laid out. We will put it up on the screen, and show our viewers -- high in complex carbohydrates, things like whole wheat, flour, brown rice, high in fruits vegetables, whole grains, soy products, low in simple carbs, such as sugar, white flour, white rice, and also you indicate low in saturated fats, red meat and pork.

This, you believe, is the key to health?

ORNISH: Well, to the degree of reduce your intake of fat, of simple carbohydrates and increase your intake of the foods you mentioned, particularly fruits and vegetables, and grains and beans. You reduce your intake of disease-promoting substances, you increase your intake of ones that are actually protective against cancer and heart disease, and you're also able to eat whenever you're hungry and eat until you're full, and lose weight and keep it off. So it's really an optimal diet for most people. This study just gives your more evidence about why that is.

HEMMER: Thank you, Dr. Dean Ornish.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired April 24, 2003 - 08:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Important new findings about the link between body weight and cancer, this from the American Cancer Society, an extensive study, 16 years now. It's studying nearly a million people, found that overweight women are at a greater risk for cancer of the uterus, kidney, cervix, breast, gall bladder, pancreas and esophagus. Obesity in men is linked to cancers to the gall bladders, the colon, the rectum, stomach, pancreas, liver and prostate. It is comprehensive in this study, as we mentioned, going back to 1982. Want to talk more about it right now, the correlation between pounds lost and lives saved with Dr. Dean Ornish. His new book is titled "Eat More, Weigh Less." He's live this morning on the West Coast in San Francisco.
Thank you, doctor, for being with us. Your initial reaction to the findings here is what?

DR. DEAN ORNISH, AUTHOR, "EAT MORE, WEIGH LESS": Well, I think it's a very important study and it's a very hopeful study. Because what it shows is that losing weight could prevent one out of six cancer deaths, or over 90,000 people who otherwise would have died every year. You know, genetics plays a role in cancer, but you can't do much about changing your parents. But this is something we can really do something about, and it can make a huge difference. It's a definitive study, and it's really exciting and it gives us all a lot of hope.

HEMMER: Exciting, and I think also the point you want to make in all of this is this is actually you something you can do about, in terms of changing your diet and changing the way you live your life. I think it's really critical. Before we get on that point, I think it's really critical. We can show our viewers what this study found as it relates to women. Obese women, it says, are six times more likely to get uterine cancer, three times more likely cervical cancer, twice more likely to get breast cancer. Women watching this story should know what from this?

ORNISH: Well, it's not just women, because men also can reduce their risk of prostate cancer, colon cancer, really most cancers across the board with few exceptions, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are linked to what we eat and how we live our lives, and this is something we can change, and so if we lose weight, if we change our diet, we can help prevent not just one or a few kinds of cancers, but most kinds of cancers. One out of six can be prevented, 90,000 cases a year. That's huge.

HEMMER: What do you take as the weight goes up relative to obesity, the cancer rate goes up right with it? Do we know why the correlation, why the relation is that way?

ORNISH: I think it's probably both the cause and effect. In other words, people who eat a diet high in fat, particularly high in saturated fat, animal protein, are more likely to be overweight. And so there is an associated finding. It may be the obesity is a reflection of the diet and it's the diet itself that may promote cancer.

But we also know that anyone who's overweight for whatever reason is more likely to convert more estrogen to form, which can itself promote cancer. Again, this is something we can do something about, by diet and exercise.

HEMMER: I want to show viewers the optimal diet you have laid out. We will put it up on the screen, and show our viewers -- high in complex carbohydrates, things like whole wheat, flour, brown rice, high in fruits vegetables, whole grains, soy products, low in simple carbs, such as sugar, white flour, white rice, and also you indicate low in saturated fats, red meat and pork.

This, you believe, is the key to health?

ORNISH: Well, to the degree of reduce your intake of fat, of simple carbohydrates and increase your intake of the foods you mentioned, particularly fruits and vegetables, and grains and beans. You reduce your intake of disease-promoting substances, you increase your intake of ones that are actually protective against cancer and heart disease, and you're also able to eat whenever you're hungry and eat until you're full, and lose weight and keep it off. So it's really an optimal diet for most people. This study just gives your more evidence about why that is.

HEMMER: Thank you, Dr. Dean Ornish.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com