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A Low-Fat Diet is No Shield for Women: They Still Run Risk of Heart Disease, Cancers, Landmark Study Finds

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 06:00 CST

By Patricia Anstett, Detroit Free Press

Feb. 8--American women got a big dose of disappointment Tuesday: A low-fat diet isn't enough to protect them from heart disease, colon cancer or breast cancer.

That means they may have to do more, said experts with the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women's health in the United States, which released its findings in Bethesda, Md.

But they made it clear: Don't abandon good health habits. Up the ante.

The message is "a low-fat diet is not enough," Dr. Susan Hendrix, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and Hutzel Women's Hospital, said during a news briefing. WSU and Hutzel are one of 40 sites participating in the landmark study.

"This is not permission to go to your fast-food restaurant," Hendrix said.

The study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association raises the question of whether low-fat diets alone failed because women changed their diets too late in life, didn't cut fat intake enough and stayed overweight.

For now, women may need to more strictly limit fat intake in their diet, exercise regularly and consider cholesterol-lowering drugs, Hendrix said.

The findings appear to underscore what many women's health experts have been saying for a while: Women are different than men, and they may need different guidelines to keep them healthy.

Up to now, many medical studies and guidelines have been based on research of men.

Brunetta Vinson, 79, of Detroit, who is participating in the ongoing study, said Tuesday that she's committed to her healthy lifestyle.

She watched her diet and the size of her food portions, but still couldn't lower her cholesterol to acceptable levels. So for several years, she has taken cholesterol-lowering medicine.

She completed a marathon in January in Arizona to raise money for the American Stroke Association, is a frequent Belle Isle walker and often leads a twice-a-week exercise class at Vernon Chapel AME Church.

"For all my adult life, I've been careful with what I ate and gotten regular checkups," said Vinson, who has a high family risk of heart disease. "We're doing all we can to protect ourselves -- and we find out it's not enough."

Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a branch of the National Institutes of Health that oversees the Women's Health Initiative, urged women to continue healthy lifestyles and yearly breast and colon cancer screenings.

Nabel, Hendrix and others offered these explanations about why a low-fat regimen might not have prevented more heart disease, breast cancer or colon cancer in women in the study:

* Many women found it hard to achieve a diet restricting fat intake to 20%. If more had achieved that goal, or better, results might have been different.

* The study did not offer precise tips about so-called bad fats, such as saturated or trans fats found in processed foods. Targeting saturated and trans fats may pay off more in fewer heart attacks.

* The women were followed for an average of eight years. It might take longer before a benefit is clear.

* In Detroit, women preferred fruits to vegetables. Vegetables might provide better protection.

* Exercise was not part of the study and may make a difference when combined with a low-fat diet.

Elsie Yeihey, 68, of Farmington Hills said too many women, herself included, put their families first and themselves and their health last. A mother of five and a widow, Yeihey works part time at a Pontiac shelter.

"I believe I'm healthier today because of the study," she said Tuesday.

Anna Anderson, 74, of Detroit said she changed all her eating and food-buying habits as a result of the study. She lost 11 pounds.

While enrolled in the study, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which runs in her family, she said.

"I've learned a lot that I think has helped me," she said.

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Source: Detroit Free Press

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