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NEWS & VIEWS |
The information is contained in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Facts & Figures 2005 (CPED), a comprehensive report that focuses on the major modifiable risk factors for cancer. The report highlights trends in tobacco use, eating habits, exercise patterns, and weight gain among adults and children. It also discusses cancer screening and ways to help more people take advantage of these potentially lifesaving tests.
CPED is a useful resource for clinicians, public health professionals, health care administrators, and policy makers working to strengthen cancer prevention and early detection efforts at a national, state, or local level, said Elizabeth Ward, PhD, Director of Surveillance Research for the ACS and one of the authors of the report.
In some areas, the report shows that the United States has made progress in reducing the threat of cancer. For instance, tobacco use causes about 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States, according to the report. Real progress has been made in reducing smoking among adolescents and adults, with per-capita cigarette consumption lower than at any other point since the start of World War II. The declining prevalence of smoking has resulted from a number of tobacco control measures, including higher tobacco taxes, laws limiting smoking in public places, and antismoking advertising.
But the report warns that many of the state programs that helped lower smoking rates have been drastically scaled back because of budget problems, jeopardizing that progress. Indeed, the most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released just days after the publication of CPED, indicated that smoking among middle and high school students remained stable between 2002 and 2004, rather than declining (MMWR 2005;54:297–301). The MMWR report further notes that the total investment in statewide tobacco prevention and control programs decreased 28% from 2002 to 2004.
The report also includes data on trends in tobacco use stratified by race, ethnicity, education level, and state of residence, as well as an update on progress by states, counties, and cities in adopting smoke-free legislation. Examples of successful legislation and programs are highlighted, and the economic impact of smoke-free legislation is reviewed.
CPED also highlights the increasingly serious problem of excessive weight gain among children and adults.
About 35% of US adults are overweight and another 30% are considered obese; nearly 16% of children 6 to 19 are overweight or obese. The report notes that about one half of overweight children and 70% of overweight adolescents remain overweight into adulthood, raising their risk of developing cancer and other serious diseases.
The obesity problem stems from a number of factors, according to the report. High-calorie foods are widely available and heavily marketed. Americans rely more than ever on cars to get around. Schools have cut physical education programs; many kids favor television, video games, and computers over outdoor activities.
CPED reviews what is known about the impact of overweight and obesity on the risk of various forms of cancer. The report summarizes data on racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic variation in weight and in behavioral risk factors related to weight. It also highlights policy initiatives and community successes that have fostered environmental changes that promote healthy weight, physical activity, and nutrition.
The report makes a number of recommendations for fighting the obesity trend. One of them is to follow ACS guidelines for nutrition and exercise. Others include encouraging restaurants to provide nutrition information so diners can make better food choices, designing communities that encourage exercise with safe sidewalks, bike lanes, and parks, and improving the quality of food served to children at school.
Lifestyle changes that lower cancer risk are only part of the cancer equation, though. Following screening recommendations is also crucial to reducing the risk of dying from cancer.
CPED contains a summary of ACS cancer screening recommendations and summarizes available data on adherence of the US population to those guidelines. Stratification of these data by race, ethnicity, education, and geographic location highlights the need to overcome disparities in use of these lifesaving tests. The report also includes discussion of some of the barriers to wider screening and strategies for overcoming these barriers.
CPED can be ordered through the ACS’s toll-free number, 1-800-ACS-2345, or downloaded from the Facts and Figures page of the ACS Web site, www.cancer.org.
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  D. Schottenfeld and J. Beebe-Dimmer Alleviating the Burden of Cancer: A Perspective on Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., November 1, 2006; 15(11): 2049 - 2055. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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