New Study Links Diet to Lung Cancer Risk: What You Need to Know

A new study reveals a correlation between diets and cancer risks.

The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging published a study that suggests that a low-fat diet can reduce the risk of lung cancer in smokers.

Through past studies, it was found that visceral fat secretes chronic inflammatory substances like adipokines, increasing the cancer risk. Nonetheless, experts agree that research on the correlation between diet and cancer remains insufficient.

The researchers primarily focused on lung cancer. They emphasized that while the association between smoking and lung cancer is well-established, the correlation between diet and lung cancer has relatively been overlooked.

Chinese researchers analyzed data from 98,000 participants in cancer studies conducted in the United States. The participants were recruited from November 1993 through July 2001, and the data related to the study were collected from 2009 to 2018.

The researchers studied the amount of food consumed by the participants such as calories, fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products through dietary questionnaires. They also collected the participants’ medical history. The racial proportion of the cohort was predominantly white at 47.96%, and they were mostly male.

The study results showed a distinctive inverse, linear correlation between a low-fat diet and lung cancer risk in a dose-dependent manner. This was particularly evident in smokers, and a high-fat diet increased the risk of small-cell lung cancer.

The findings also aligned with a British study revealing a link between a red and processed meats diet and a risk of developing lung cancer.