Day 256 - 04 Jun 96 - Page 07

     
     1        that one of the Plaintiffs' witnesses had said; I think
     2        this was Professor Wheelock.
     3
     4   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, in fact, I think it was something in a
     5        paper by Professor Wheelock, that was referred to by one of
     6        the witnesses.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  I suggest that you start reading from
     9        the words "the range of fat intake", because it does not
    10        really matter what provoked it.
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  OK.  If I just add the words "in the China study":
    13
    14        "The range of fat intake in the breast cancer analysis was
    15        6 to 24 per cent of calories.  This is a particularly
    16        interesting range, because it is below what most
    17        individuals in western countries use.  Thus, it considers
    18        what diet/disease relationships may exist when diets low in
    19        fat and, more importantly, high in plant matter are
    20        consumed.
    21
    22        "We found a positive statistically significant association
    23        between fat intake and breast cancer mortality rate.  In
    24        short, this and several other analyses of these data
    25        suggest that even though breast cancer is much less common
    26        and fat intake is much lower in rural China, the higher the
    27        fat intake in China, the higher the breast cancer rate in
    28        China.
    29
    30        "Of course, I am certain that the higher breast cancer
    31        rates are not due solely to dietary fat, but to a broad
    32        constellation of dietary factors associated with these
    33        levels of dietary fat.
    34
    35        "As to confounding by 'industrialisation', this is a red
    36        herring with little meaning.  In virtually all societies,
    37        as industrialisation becomes more significant (that is,
    38        when people have more disposable income), one of the first
    39        changes to occur is an increase in the intakes of total fat
    40        and foods of animal original (generally simultaneously).
    41
    42        "I do not know of any significant evidence which suggests
    43        that industrialisation-related non-dietary factors can
    44        account for this dietary association, especially when there
    45        is outstanding empirical and theoretical evidence which
    46        shows that the association (of dietary fat in breast
    47        cancer) which we observe is biologically plausible
    48        (especially when taking into consideration the full
    49        constellation of dietary factors and mechanisms of disease
    50        causation)." 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can you just pause there? 
    53
    54        (To the witness)  I do not want to you to elaborate, but
    55        could you just tell me what the non-dietary factors you had
    56        in mind were, or some of them, to give me some examples?
    57        A.  Pollution, I think, is one of the things that people
    58        tend to discuss; also, the stress that is associated with a
    59        highly industrialised society, active society.  I think
    60        those are the two key things.