Half of adults are unclear about whether nutrition makes a difference during cancer care and 60% don’t know that losing weight during treatment carries risk, including for patients who are overweight or obese.
A RED C survey commissioned by the Irish Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (IrSPEN ), on a representative sample of 1,000 adults, found concerning levels of misinformation and misunderstanding around nutritional status during cancer care.
Despite the fact that half of us will develop cancer the research found:
More than half of people (56% ) are not clear on the importance of nutritional care during cancer treatment, with one in four thinking that good nutritional intake was not crucial
28% of people incorrectly believed that if a person is overweight or obese, losing weight is a positive side effect of cancer with a further 32% unsure
A majority (53% ) were not clear that maintaining muscle mass and strength is important for patients undergoing treatment for cancer
36% incorrectly believed or were unsure that overweight cancer patients would be ‘unlikely’ to require nutritional care (screening, advice, monitoring and access to dietitians ).
IrSPEN spokesperson and Obesity Specialist at St Vincent’s University Hospital Professor Carel Le Roux said current medical research shows that maintaining nutritional health, body weight and muscle mass during cancer care significantly improves medical outcomes – including for people with overweight or obesity.
“Losing weight without trying and losing muscle mass are common problems in cancer – affecting at least a third of patients. Contrary to what people seem to think weight and muscle loss are harmful during treatment – whether people are under or overweight. It makes treatment less effective and increases risks of complications.
“From the time of diagnosis and during active treatment, the goal is to minimise weight change, to preserve muscle mass and maintain body strength.
“It is of concern that the RED C survey shows that patients with obesity may be particularly at risk of not receiving the care they need, due to a misconception that losing body mass is a positive side-effect of cancer,” Professor Le Roux stated.
Professor Le Roux said that this is an important message, as 40-60% of cancer patients are overweight or obese at the time of diagnosis.
“There is a time for achieving weight loss in patients with obesity, but it is not while undergoing cancer treatment, as it may negatively impact the patient’s response to treatments, which can affect overall survival.
“As clinicians we need to pay greater attention to relatively modest changes in body weight and muscle mass, since the earlier we can catch it, the more effective we can be in preventing cancer related malnutrition.”
“Weight loss and malnutrition are not inevitable, or something that can be dealt with after treatment. An important pillar of cancer care is to keep the patient in the best possible condition to benefit from treatments,” Professor Le Roux asserted.
