SIRC Media Watch Archive
Panics and Scares – August 2005

Chip-eating kids ‘raise breast cancer risk’ Pre-school children who regularly eat chips may face an increased risk of breast cancer in later life, research has suggested. Diet has long been known to influence the development of several types of cancer, with overweight and obese people most at risk...researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, said that regularly eating French fries was linked to a significantly increased risk of breast cancer. Daily Mail.

Obesity crisis in the concrete jungles. People living in concrete jungles surrounded by graffiti are more likely to be obese than those from more green and pleasant areas, a study has showed...Researchers from the Medical Research Council set out to discover whether living in less pleasant areas really was linked to higher levels of obesity among adults. Daily Mail.

Desire for a suntan may be an addiction similar to alcoholism. People who compulsively use sunbeds despite knowing the risks of skin cancer may be suffering from an addiction similar to those for alcohol and cigarettes, experts warn. Researchers claim the results of a study may explain why campaigns to inform sunbed users and sunbathers of the dangers from ultraviolet radiation have proven ineffective. Scotsman.

Goodness of milk ‘offset by ovarian cancer risk’. Drinking just one glass of milk a day may increase the risk of women developing ovarian cancer, scientists said yesterday. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analysed 21 studies researching diet and ovarian cancer and found that drinking milk increased cancer risk by 13 per cent. But milk actually lowers the risk of other cancers and they did not recommend women should stop drinking it. No significant link was found between other dairy products and the disease. Scotsman.