Booze, Bacon and Obesity Linked to Stomach Cancer Jessica Hoac Blair Twaddle Kara Glavan Ashley Richardson

What are they claiming? People that eat bacon, drink alcohol, and are obese are at an increased risk for stomach cancer. Claims: Drinking 3 or more alcoholic drinks daily increases risk National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s definition of heavy drinking: “drinking 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days.” “Eating 1.8 ounces of processed meat every day-the equivalent of 1 hot dog a day-raises the risk of stomach cancer by about 18 percent” Obesity- the more you weigh the higher the risk of stomach cancer

Who Are They? The writer of the article: Maggie Fox, a NBC News correspondent American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) conducted the actual study

Summary of media article Presents three things as fact that causes stomach cancer: obesity, processed meat, and alcohol. The processed meat may not be the cause, it may be the additives and unnatural preservatives or salt mixed with the meat to keep it edible. However, only a small amount is said about smoking and the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria that are both said to be strongly associated with stomach cancer.

Original Journal Article

Summary Hypothesis: “We analyse global research on how certain lifestyle factors affect the risk of developing stomach cancer.” Results: “Overall, the Panel notes the strength of the evidence that consumption of alcoholic drinks and foods preserved by salting are causes of stomach cancer; that consumption of processed meat is a cause of non-cardia cancer; and that body fatness is a cause of cardia cancer.”

What did they do? Methods: Meta analysis 89 studies totaling to 17.5 million adults Restricted to Medline Randomised control trials, cohort and nested case control studies Leading international scientists drew conclusions

Problems with the study Original study has probable causes opposed to convincing evidence Confounding variables: smoking & H. pylori bacteria Most studies were adjusted for smoking Few studies were adjusted for H. Pylori bacteria

Problems with the study (cont.) NBC News article written as if 100% fact Original article states studies that were not significant “Probably” often used in original article Leaves out points of original article Title leaves out other processed meats Strong evidence vs. Limited evidence Does not define difference between cardia and non-cardia stomach cancer Obesity in original linked to cardia cancer, no mention of this in media article

Conclusions of the study In the original article… Consuming 3+ alcoholic drinks a day increases risk Foods preserved by salt increases risk Processed meat increased risk of stomach non-cardia cancer Body fatness (BMI) is probably a cause of cardia cancer Limited evidence that consuming grilled/barbecued meat & fish increases risk Limited evidence that consuming little to no fruit increases risk Limited evidence that consuming citrus fruit decreases risk In the media article… 1.8 ounces of processed meat a day increases risk for stomach cancer by about 18% Smoking is the blame for about 11% of stomach cancers 3+ alcoholic drinks a day increases risk “The more a person weighs in relation to height, the higher the risk of stomach cancer” American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) links obesity and booze to liver cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and endometrial cancer Heavy meat consumption is linked to breast and colon cancer

References World Cancer Research Fund International/American Institute for Cancer Research. Continuous Update Project Report: Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Stomach Cancer Available at: wcrf.org/stomach-cancer Fox, M. (2016, April 10). NBC News. Retrieved from n n “Drinking Levels Defined." National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web. 03 May