Day 030 - 03 Oct 94 - Page 59
1 is the book "Diet, Nutrition and Cancer" which you alluded
2 to before from the National Academy of Sciences in the
3 USA. It is dated 1982.
4 A. If you tell me what pages are you interested in?
5
6 Q. It is the pages I was asked to copy. To explain to the
7 court, it was a mad panic to get all this information
8 copied and obtained. That is one of the reasons why there
9 is a little bit of confusion. The pages I have are the
10 cover, 1/12 to 1/16 and 2/1.
11 A. You do not need 12 and 13.
12
13 Q. Yes.
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Page 14, is it, Mr. Cannon?
16 A. Yes, my Lord.
17
18 MR. MORRIS: Do you want to point us to it?
19 A. Well, bear in mind, as I say, this was the first major
20 report specifically and solely on diet, nutrition in
21 cancer published in 1982. I have already mentioned that
22 the position of the American Cancer Society, the National
23 Cancer Institute and the American government, is
24 originally based on this work and further research since.
25
26 The relevant paragraphs are: "Contribution of diet to
27 overall risk of cancer" which gives various estimates,
28 I have already referred to these, which suggest that diet
29 may be responsible for between 30 to 40 per cent of
30 cancers in men and 60 per cent of cancers in women. That
31 is not Doll and Peto, that is two other authorities.
32
33 Then they specify interim dietary guidelines. I would say
34 in this particular case the recommendations are on the
35 strong balance of evidence rather than beyond reasonable
36 doubt. That is how I would construe the term "interim",
37 but they do say for instance, that in 1982: "There is
38 sufficient evidence that high fat consumption is linked to
39 increased incidence of certain common cancers, notably
40 breast and colon cancer, and that low fat intake is
41 associated with lower incidence of these cancers. The
42 committee recommends that the consumption of both
43 saturated and unsaturated fats to be reduced in the
44 average US diet. An appropriate and practical target is to
45 reduce the intake fat from its present level which is
46 approximately 40 per cent (which is what it is in the UK)
47 to 30 per cent of total calories. The scientific data do
48 not provide a strong basis for establishing fat intake of
49 precisely 30 per cent. Indeed, the data could be used to
50 justify an even greater reduction. However, in the
51 judgment of the Committee the suggested reduction, i.e.
52 one quarter of fat intake, is moderate and practical and
53 likely to be beneficial". Then they give other
54 recommendations.
55
56 MR. MORRIS: So we can leave that document, can we? Just one
57 point over the page on 1/16: "The Committee suggest
58 that"?
59 A. What page is this?
60
