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

Prev Next Index