Concordance with dietary and lifestyle population goals for cancer prevention in Dutch, Scottish, Mexican, and Guatemalan population samples

Abstract 

Objectives

We assessed concordance with selected population goal components of the 1997 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) diet and lifestyle recommendations to decrease cancer risk across four population samples.

Methods

This was a prospectively designed survey examining concordance with the population goals of the WCRF/AICR recommendations using target criteria across sites. Population samples were from the Netherlands, Scotland, Mexico, and Guatemala. A total of 3564 men and women aged 18 to 70 y were recruited in equal proportions by site and gender.

Results

None of the four pooled samples met the target population average criteria for body mass index or refined sugar intake. The Guatemalan sample had concordance with the largest number of recommended cancer-prevention goals (10 of 12 selected WCRF/AICR components). Successively, Mexican, Scottish, and Dutch samples were concordant with seven, four, and three selected components, respectively.

Conclusions

A prospectively designed research instrument and exhaustive prior examination of operative criteria allow for the assessment of group-level concordance with cancer-prevention goals. To the extent that the study samples reflect the respective national situations, geographic variance in concordance exists, with conditions and behaviors in Guatemala bringing that nation into more general compliance with the 1997 WCRF/AICR goals.

Keywords: Dietary surveys, Food habits, Lifestyle habits, Cancer prevention