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P o r u and
O bserver • N ovember 27, 1996
P age A 5
Low-calorie diets key to cancer prevention
bv T he A merican I nstiti te for
C ancer R esearch
___
may b t because we have done such a
good job of selling the idea that fat
and calories are the same thing, that
the public will eat a box o f fat-free
cookies thinking that there’s no fat,
so it’s okay. The problem is , the
other ingredients used in those cook
ies might give them the same number
o f calories as if fat had been used.”
Calories and the rate at which we
bum them through exerc ise have been
found to play a vital role in our risk
for colon, prostate and breast cancer
development, according to several
studies conducted with both women
and men in the past decade.
“ We now have data on well over a
million people that show that the
more overweight you are, the higher
the number o f cancers for which you
become at risk,” Kritchevsky noted.
“If you are a male the risk o f prostate
cancer is increased ifyou're at great
er risk for colon cancer.
Low calorie diets key to cancer
prevention, researchers say
Researchers believe from this and
other evidence that restricting the
Ever since weight-loss “dieting”
became popular in the 1960s, cutting
calories has been the key to shedding
unwanted pounds.
B utw henstudiesduringthe 1980s
found that saturated fat in Ameri
cans' diets was one o f the main caus
es o f heart disease as well as weight
gain, fat became the new villain in
our food.
Since then, hundreds o f reduced
fat food products have gone on the
market, and millions o f Americans
have seen them as the answer to
eating for better health.
Yet statistics show that obesity in
this country is increasing, with one-
third o f all Americans--about 67 mil
lion peop le-at least 20 percent over
weight. Where did we go wrong?
According to cancer researcher
David Kritchevsky, Ph.D, o f the
Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, “In
the United States, cholesterol counts
seem to have fallen, while the inci
dence o f obesity has gone up. This
number o f calories we eat as well as
burning them off through regular
exercise is at least as important as
cutting back on fat.
Kritchevsky cited one experiment
with skin cancer where mice got more
tumors from a diet that was high only
in calories and riot in fat, than from
another diet that was high in fat.
He added that in studies where
rats were given treadmill exercise,
their incidence oftumors was as much
as 25 percent lower than among rats
that did not exercise.
Kritchevsky said that it’s easier to
reduce calories by not taking them in
rather than trying to work them off.
"We eat too much. For example, the
portions we now get at restaurants
are huge. Populations that eat too
much have high rights o f cancer.
Finnish lumberjacks are known to
eat about 7,000 calories a day, but
since they’re chopping wood at 40
below zero degrees, they’re also burn
ing 7,000 calories a day. Most o f us
are always trying to make life less
strenuous, like driving everywhere
Artificial limb with real life
Like most managers, Nita Weil
spends her work day talking on the
phone, typing on the computer and
supervising staff. But unlike most
managers, she does it all from a wheel
chair, with the use o f only one arm
supported by an orthosis.
“New understanding o f biom e
chanics, lighter plastics and stronger
materials have led to orthosis that
make life easier for patients with
disabilities,” said Thomas Lunsford,
an assistant professor in the depart
ment o f physical medicine and reha
bilitation at Baylor College o f M ed
icine in Houston. W e’ve come a long
way from bulky steel braces and
heavy leather shoes.”
Unlike prosthetics, which involves
the artificial replacement o f a miss
ing body part, orthotics refers to a
mechanical device designed to re
store function or to prevent or correct
deformities.
Over the past 30 years, there have
been major advances in the field o f
orthotics that have allowed patients
with spinal cord and brain injuries
and those afflicted with muscular
dystrophy and past-polio syndrome
to become more active and indepen
dent.
Upper-body supports are more
streamlined, orthosis (braces and
splints) and walking shoes are lighter
and upper-limb orthosis allow for
greater range o f motion.
“ I've been working at The Insti
tute for Rehabilitation and Research
(TlRR) for 38 years now,” said Weil.
“But I couldn’t have worked a day
without my mobile arm support unit.”
The unit, powered by carbon di
oxide inflation o f an artificial mus
cle, represents one o f the significant
advances in the field o f orthotics.
Weil has been paralyzed since
being stricken with polio at the age o f
22. But that has not prevented her
from becom ing the d irector o f volun
teer services atTIRR. She oversees a
team o f 200 volunteers at the hospi
tal, and orthotic technology makes it
possible.
With the help o f the mobile arm
unit, which supports and guides her
left arm, Weil is able to use the
working muscles in her arm. With
out the unit, she would not be able to
type on a keyboard or dial a tele
phone.
“ When you get an orthosis that
helps you write your name, work on
the computer or drive a car, it opens
up a whole new world for you,” Weil
said.
Strep and rheumatic fever
gle injection, preferable when ad
herence to a ten-day regimen o f oral
penicillin might be difficult.
Newer oral antibiotics are widely
prescribed by physicians, but ac
cording to Edward L. Kaplan, MD,
editor o f the Pediatrics supplement
and an expert on group A strepto
coccal infections, as many as two-
thirds o f patients stop taking the
medicine as soon as the symptoms
start to disappear, thereby allowing
the illness to survive, possibly re
turn and even spread. He says that
strep can spread quickly where peo
ple c o n g re g a te —p a rtic u la rly in
crowded areas such as schools and
daycare facilities.
Dr. Kaplan, who is th ech airo fth e
Strep throat, a type o f group A
streptococcal infection, can be asso
ciated with dangerous, if not life
threatening infections if not proper
ly diagnosed and treated, Pediatrics
reports. Serious com plications o f
group A strep include not only rheu
matic fever, but streptococcal toxic
shock syndrome and tissue infec
tions such as necrotizing fascitis,
which have reported mortality rates
o f 30 percent or higher.
The Pediatrics supplement reports
that pen ici II in, introduced more than
40 years ago, remains the most ef
fective drug for treating strep throat
preventing its spread and develop
ment into dangerous complications.
Penicillin is also available as a sin-
World Health Organization Collab
orating Center for Reference and
Research on Streptococci and a Pro
fessor o f Pediatrics at the University
o f M innesota, says that sore throats
need to be seen by pediatricians or
primary care physicians and cultures
must be taken to insure proper diag
nosis and treatment o f group A strep
tococcal infections.
We will be calling you soon to
discuss the recent reemergence of
dangerous strep infections and can
arrange an interview with Dr. Kaplan.
instead o f walking, taking elevators
instead of the stairs, so we don’t burn
the same amount o f calories we eat.”
A ICR re s e a rc h e r T. C olin
Campbell, Ph.D., chaired Professor
ofNutritional Biochemistry, Cornell
U n i versity and director o f the Cornel I-
O x fo rd -C h in a Diet and H ealth
Project, added, "In China, calorie
consumption is about 30 percent high-
er than it is here, but those calories
come from a diet that is much higher
in plant foods, especially vegetables.
The Chinese are much thinner than
Americans not only because o f their
diet, but because they exercise more
than we do, because they ride to work
on bicycles and have exercise regi
mens in schools and workplaces.”
The American Institute for Can
cer Research advises eating a diet
that is rich in low-calorie, low-fat
and high-fiber vegetables, fruits, and
whole grains. The Institute also rec
ommends eating meat in moderation
(no more than 4 ounces per meal);
and drinking alcohol in moderation,
if at all.
African-American
health briefs
Prostate cancer a major threat to black men
Annual prostate examinations are important for black men 40 and older.
"T hat’s because prostate cancer is in the future o f one in nine black men,”
said Dr Ronald L. Morton, Jr o f the Baylor Prostate Center at Baylor
College o f Medicine in Houston.
The disease can spread without symptoms, but a physician can detect
prostate cancer by using a combination o f a physical exam, blood and urine
tests and ultrasound scanning.
A rectal examination, done in a doctor’s office, can determine if the
prostate feels hard, a possible sign o f cancer. The exam is simple, quick
and only slightly uncomfortable, Morton said.
A prostate specific antigen, or PSA, test can help make the diagnosis,
but a biopsy o f the prostate is needed to confirm the presence o f cancer.
High blood pressure needs attention
High blood pressure is a major cause o f death and debilitation among
black people, and most blacks know someone with high blood pressure or
hypertension.
Blacks are twice as likely to have the disease as other Americans and
more likely to suffer hypertension-related medical complications, said Dr.
James L. Phillips of Baylor College o f Medicine in Houston. People wit
high blood pressure need to be under a physician’s care, but they also can
reduce their blood pressure by reducing salt in their diets, avoiding
tobacco and alcohol, losing excess weight and exercising regularly.
BCBSO names Tia Dorsey Vice
President of Human Resources
Tia Dorsey o f Portland has been
appointed Vice President o f Hu
man Resources for Blue Cross and
Blue Shield o f Oregon HMO Ore
gon. according to Donald Sacco,
President.
As VP o f Human Resources,
Dorsey now manages a staff o f 28,
and oversees the salary, benefit and
working condition issues o f more
than 2,300 BCBSO/HMO Oregon
employees throughout Oregon and
Southwest Washington.
She has been with BCBSO/HMO
Oregon for more than 18 years,
beginning her career with the com
pany as an Employment Represen
tative.
She was later promoted to Su
pervisor, Employment/Employee
Relations in 1982, Manager o f Hu
man Resources in 1990, and Assis
tant Vice President in 1993.
Dorsey is a graduate o f Portland
State University with a degree in
Psychology and Social Sc ience, and
is accredited by the Society for Hu
man Resource Management.
She was raised in Klamath Falls,
Oregon, and graduated form Wash
ington High School in Portland.
Dorsey is also a Board Member
o f the Black Colleges Committee
and maintains membership in the
following organizations: National
Society for Human Resources Man-
Tia D orsey
agem ent, N orthw est Human Re
source M anagement Association,
Urban League o f Portland, Portland
Insurance Personnel Administrators,
and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
In her new position, she replaces
Tom Kennedy, who assumed the
Human Resources responsibility for
Oregon ranks 47th
in child immunization
O regon’s new statewide child
immunization information system,
Oregon Immunization Alert, is the
first system in the nation using bar
codes to track children’s shots and
oral vaccines statewide.
The system is currently being
introduced throughout the state to
health care providers who treat ba
bies and young children. Alert is a
result of an innovative public/pri-
vate partnership between members
o f Oregon Health Systems in Col
laboration, OHSIC, which repre
sents Oregon’s largest health care
systems.
Almost one-third o f O regon’s
children ages birth to two are miss
ing one or two immunizations. In
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U
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