Day 254 - 22 May 96 - Page 60
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2 MR. MORRIS: If McDonald's are ----
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4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is a defamation action.
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6 MR. MORRIS: If McDonald's are spending $1.8 billion every year
7 promoting unhealthy food ----
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9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am sorry, this has just become a platform
10 for making ex cathedra statements. This is your
11 opportunity to cross-examine Dr. Arnott.
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13 MS. STEEL: You have agreed that overweight is a substantial
14 risk factor in the development of cancer, yes?
15 A. What we do know for certain is that when people develop
16 cancer, if they are overweight then their outlook is worse
17 than if they were not overweight, and there is a suggestion
18 that obesity may well be a factor in the development of
19 certain cancers.
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21 Q. You mean before it is diagnosed?
22 A. Yes.
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24 Q. Right. If people are to increase their fruit and vegetable
25 intake without over-eating and becoming overweight, then
26 they need to cut out other things in their diet such as
27 fat?
28 A. Well, that actually does not follow because the number
29 of calories per gram of fruit and vegetables is very small,
30 and that, if you are on a diet and wanting to lose weight,
31 is one of the advantages and why many diets actually
32 recommend that a high intake of fruit and vegetables
33 because of their low calorie content.
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35 Q. Right, but you would still need to cut down on the amount
36 of fats in your diet to make up for the increased calorie
37 intake from fruit and vegetables?
38 A. No. That does not follow, I am afraid. As I say,
39 there are very few calories in fruit and vegetables. If
40 one is trying to avoid people becoming obese, then
41 obviously one does give advice about cutting down on foods
42 which are high in calories.
43
44 Q. In the conclusions about fat on page 33 it says:
45
46 "Although there is a body of evidence associating total fat
47 intake with cancer at a number of sites, for example,
48 colon, breasts and so on, the evidence is far from clear.
49 For example, at all sites there is an equally strong
50 association with total energy intake and it is not clear
51 which of these two is a primary factor", so even here Dr.
52 Hill, is it, or Professor hill, maybe it is not either,
53 I do not know.
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55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We do not know at the moment.
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57 MS. STEEL: Is saying that one of the two is a primary factor,
58 yes?
59 A. I suppose what he is actually saying is that because of
60 the consistency of the association, his conclusion is that
