經常吃垃圾食品的女生會增加10%的患癌率

Women who eat junk food but are not overweight are still increasing their risk of cancer, a study has found. Previous research suggested the risk of cancer increased because processed foods such as burgers and pizza made people overweight.

一項研究發現：吃垃圾食品但卻不胖的女生仍會增加自己患癌症的風險。先前的研究表明：由於漢堡和披薩等加工食品會讓人變胖，所以患癌症的風險會增加。

But this latest study found that such high energy-low nutrient foods contributed to a 10% higher risk of developing cancer in women even if they were of normal weight. The findings, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, used figures from 90,000 postmenopausal women in the US assessing their diet and any cancer diagnosis.

但這項最新的研究發現：如果女性是正常體重，那麼攝入這些能量高、營養低的食物會使她們增加10%的患癌率。研究結果發表在《營養學會雜誌》（Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics）上，該研究對美國9萬名絕經的女性進行分析，評估她們的飲食和任何癌症診斷。

Lead investigator Prof Cynthia Thomson, of the University of Arizona, said: "The demonstrated effect in normal-weight women in relation to risk for obesity-related cancers is novel and contrary to our hypothesis. "This finding suggests that weight management alone may not protect against obesity-related cancers should women favour a diet pattern indicative of high energy density."

亞利桑那大學首席研究員辛西婭·湯姆森教授說："正常體重的女性和與肥胖相關的癌症風險之間顯示的效果是新穎的，也是與我們的假設相反的。""這一研究結果表明：如果女性喜歡高能量密度的飲食，那麼僅僅只是管理體重可能無法預防與肥胖相關的癌症。"

The study focuses on high dietary energy density (DED) foods such as biscuits and confectionery. DED is a measure of food quality and the relationship of calories to nutrients. The more calories per gram of weight a food has, the higher its DED. Whole foods - such as vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and beans - are considered low-DED foods because they provide a lot of nutrients using very few calories.

研究着重於飲食能量密度高的食物，比如餅乾和糖果。飲食能量密度是測量食物質量和卡路里與營養成分關係的方式。每克食物所含的卡路里量越高，其飲食能量密度就越高。蔬菜、水果、瘦肉和豆類等全食被認爲是飲食能量密度低的食物，因爲這些食物的熱量低，但營養成分卻很高。

Fibre in foods like whole grains and potatoes with skin can also help to reduce energy density. Obesity-related cancers include those affecting the breast, bowel, womb, oesophagus, pancreas, kidney, liver, gallbladder, ovary and thyroid. The study found that women who ate a diet higher in DED were 10% more likely to develop an obesity-related cancer.

全穀物和帶皮的土豆等食物中含有的纖維能幫助減少能量密度。與肥胖相關的癌症包括乳腺癌、腸癌、子宮癌、食道癌、胰腺癌、腎癌、肝癌、膽囊癌、卵巢癌和甲狀腺癌。研究發現飲食能量密度高的女性，她們患與肥胖相關的癌症的風險要高10%。

The study even revealed that the increased risk appeared limited to women who were of a normal weight at enrolment in the programme.

該研究甚至揭示：在該計劃中，似乎只有正常體重的女性纔會增加患癌症的風險。

Although restricting energy dense foods may play a role in weight management, the researchers found that weight gain was not solely responsible for the rise in cancer risk among normal weight women in the study.

雖然限制能量密集型食物可能會對體重管理起作用，但研究員發現：在研究中的那些體重正常的女性中，體重增加並非患癌率提高的唯一原因。