Day 254 - 22 May 96 - Page 55
1 A. What you are talking about are recommendation to
2 populations by organisations, such as The World Health
3 Authority. We have been over this ground before. These
4 are general recommendations trying to give sensible advice
5 to populations about their lifestyle, in a sense, their
6 diet, which is part of lifestyle.
7
8 What I am talking about are scientific research projects
9 which have raised question marks in the medical and
10 scientific world about the relevance of such matters as the
11 amount of saturated fat in the diet. They would not
12 necessarily, therefore, appear in general recommendations
13 which were being made by The World Health Organisation to
14 populations throughout the world.
15
16 MR. MORRIS: Do you know what the ECP/IUNS? Is it the European
17 Cancer Prevention something, is it?
18 A. I do know. Where is this?
19
20 Q. You have not got the book in front of you, but do you know
21 what the ECP/IUNS is?
22 A. No.
23
24 Q. Are you aware of a Special Workshop on Diet and Human
25 Carcinogenesis (R Hue Stenmark(?) June 1985, which is
26 reported in the World Health Organisation Report. Does
27 that ring any bells with you?
28 A. No. What I have said in my previous evidence, and also
29 I mention in my recent report, is that things have changed
30 over the years. You know, this is not a static field.
31
32 Q. Yes?
33 A. Patient's and scientist's viewpoints about what is
34 important, what is less important and so on, have been
35 modified as time has gone on and you are talking about a
36 conference which was held more than 11 years ago.
37
38 Q. According to the World Health Organisation Report, on page
39 184, I do not know if the judge has got page 184, there is
40 a list of dietary recommendations to reduce cancer risk in
41 industrialised countries. It lists Canada, Europe, Japan
42 and the United States of America. The United States of
43 America has consistently recommended less than 30 per cent
44 of calories as fat from fat, yes?
45 A. Yes.
46
47 Q. You accept that?
48 A. Yes.
49
50 Q. Consistent in America, and Europe in 1986 coming from that
51 conference, which I referred to, which is mentioned on page
52 178 of the World Health Organisation pamphlet, also
53 recommends to have less than 30 per cent of calories
54 derived from fat, but you do not know about that?
55 A. I am not arguing about these recommendations. We have
56 discussed this already. What these recommendations are to
57 populations of people, trying to give them sound, sensible
58 advice. We do not necessarily always have the absolute
59 facts to our hands to say that A causes B, but where
60 studies have suggested that there might be a relationship,
