I'm reminded of a post Bryan made awhile back that alluded to the fact that hypertrophy is not highly studied because (and I'm paraphrasing here) relative to other medical advancements, there nothing inherently healthy or advantageous about increasing lean body mass.
This study brings up more questions than answers, but it does seem to highlight the potential perils of eating for size...
BB
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who take in lots of calories, regardless of what foods they eat or their body weight, may be more likely to develop prostate cancer (news - web sites), study findings suggest.
Among 444 middle-aged and older men, those who reported the biggest calorie intake had a nearly four-fold higher chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, versus men who consumed the fewest calories.
The results are based on a fairly small number of men with the disease; 46 had been diagnosed with prostate cancer before reporting their dietary habits, while 22 were diagnosed after.
Still, researchers report in the journal Urology, the findings support the theory that a high-calorie lifestyle is associated with higher odds of prostate cancer.
The role of diet in prostate cancer has long been unclear. A number of studies have suggested that diets high in animal fat, from meat or dairy products, may help promote the disease. But other research has found no such connection.
In this study, total calories from any source--fat, protein or carbohydrates--were what mattered. The group with the highest calorie intake--typically around 2,600 calories a day--had a higher cancer risk than any of the lower-intake groups.
Compared with men who reported the lowest calorie intake (half of them getting less than 1,100 calories per day), their risk was 3.8 times higher.
The association was true of both normal-weight and overweight men, according to the researchers, led by Lillian J. Hsieh of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
When they looked only at men who were diagnosed after reporting their diet habits, though, the relationship between calories and prostate cancer was less strong.
According to Hsieh and her colleagues, higher calorie intake may influence prostate cancer development by increasing a man's levels of certain hormones. For example, they note, levels of circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 have been associated with prostate cancer.
Another recent study found a similar relationship between higher total calorie intake and prostate cancer. But those researchers also discovered a link between a high-fat, high-calcium diet and the risk of advanced prostate cancer, in particular.
They speculated that taking in lots of calories might boost prostate cancer risk overall, while fat- and calcium-rich diets might promote the advancement of the disease.
It's estimated that about half of US men will develop some cancerous cells in the prostate by the age of 80. But far fewer die from prostate cancer, since it is usually a slowly progressing disease.
Risk factors include older age, family history of the disease and African-American race.
According to Hsieh's team, more studies that measure men's calorie intake, physical activity and weight over time are needed to understand the role of diet in the disease.
SOURCE: Urology 2003;61:297-301.
This study brings up more questions than answers, but it does seem to highlight the potential perils of eating for size...
BB
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who take in lots of calories, regardless of what foods they eat or their body weight, may be more likely to develop prostate cancer (news - web sites), study findings suggest.
Among 444 middle-aged and older men, those who reported the biggest calorie intake had a nearly four-fold higher chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, versus men who consumed the fewest calories.
The results are based on a fairly small number of men with the disease; 46 had been diagnosed with prostate cancer before reporting their dietary habits, while 22 were diagnosed after.
Still, researchers report in the journal Urology, the findings support the theory that a high-calorie lifestyle is associated with higher odds of prostate cancer.
The role of diet in prostate cancer has long been unclear. A number of studies have suggested that diets high in animal fat, from meat or dairy products, may help promote the disease. But other research has found no such connection.
In this study, total calories from any source--fat, protein or carbohydrates--were what mattered. The group with the highest calorie intake--typically around 2,600 calories a day--had a higher cancer risk than any of the lower-intake groups.
Compared with men who reported the lowest calorie intake (half of them getting less than 1,100 calories per day), their risk was 3.8 times higher.
The association was true of both normal-weight and overweight men, according to the researchers, led by Lillian J. Hsieh of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
When they looked only at men who were diagnosed after reporting their diet habits, though, the relationship between calories and prostate cancer was less strong.
According to Hsieh and her colleagues, higher calorie intake may influence prostate cancer development by increasing a man's levels of certain hormones. For example, they note, levels of circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 have been associated with prostate cancer.
Another recent study found a similar relationship between higher total calorie intake and prostate cancer. But those researchers also discovered a link between a high-fat, high-calcium diet and the risk of advanced prostate cancer, in particular.
They speculated that taking in lots of calories might boost prostate cancer risk overall, while fat- and calcium-rich diets might promote the advancement of the disease.
It's estimated that about half of US men will develop some cancerous cells in the prostate by the age of 80. But far fewer die from prostate cancer, since it is usually a slowly progressing disease.
Risk factors include older age, family history of the disease and African-American race.
According to Hsieh's team, more studies that measure men's calorie intake, physical activity and weight over time are needed to understand the role of diet in the disease.
SOURCE: Urology 2003;61:297-301.