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Agency supports
the fight against cancer
Cancer is a big
issue in Northern Ireland as it is the second major cause
of death after heart disease. It is responsible for almost
3,500 deaths each year and it is estimated that over 1,000
of these cancer deaths are linked to diet.
Today marks the
start of two week-long initiatives which are running alongside
one another, Europe Against Cancer Week and Food Awareness
Week. The Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland is
supporting these initiatives by producing a nutrition leaflet,
Eat
well, keep well and reduce your risk of cancer
to raise awareness of how eating healthily can protect
our bodies from disease.
This year Europe
Against Cancer Week is focusing on encouraging children and
young people to eat the recommended five portions of fruit
and vegetables each day. Angela McComb, Regional Health Promotion
Manager for Nutrition with the Health Promotion Agency said:
"Fruit and vegetables have a central role in protecting our
health, particularly in preventing killer diseases such as
cancer and heart disease.
"Research*
carried out with young people by the Health Promotion Agency
showed that overall only one in ten young people were eating
the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables per day. The
figures also showed that one out of five boys and one out
of ten girls ate no fruit or vegetables at all."
When queried
about chocolate biscuits and confectionery it was discovered
that almost one third of 5-11 year old girls ate these foods
more than once a day with two out of five boys in the same
age group eating them more than once a day. Angela continued:
"Figures such as these are worrying as chocolate and confectionery
products are very high in fat and sugar and provide few essential
vitamins.
"These findings
emphasise the need to encourage our young people to adopt
a healthy, balanced eating pattern early in life as we know
that the eating patterns established in childhood are carried
through into adulthood when these can be very difficult to
change.
"Research has
shown that by eating a total of five portions of fruit and
vegetables a day we can significantly reduce our risk of certain
cancers by almost one fifth, and by increasing the amount
of fibre we eat that risk can be reduced even more.
"Developing healthy
eating habits early in life is essential for our wellbeing
and by making just a few changes to what we eat every day
we can actually invest in our future good health." This nutrition
leaflet is being distributed through health and social services
facilities.
END
*Research
carried out in 1999 by the Agency on the eating habits of
adults
and children
and young people in Northern Ireland is now available.
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