Do Cancer Survivors Eat Better? Young Survivors Struggle to Sustain Healthy Diets [Health Check]

[Financial News] The common belief that people who have had cancer pay closer attention to their eating habits did not hold true for younger cancer survivors. A study found that the diet quality of survivors diagnosed with cancer before age 50 fell below that of the general population after they reached age 65.
A research team led by Baek Su-a, a professor of family medicine at Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, and Bae Woo-kyung, a professor of family medicine at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, analyzed data from the 2019–2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The study examined 8,706 adults aged 30 or older, including 641 cancer survivors and 8,065 members of the general population.

The researchers used the internationally recognized Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I) to compare diet quality between cancer survivors and the general population. They also divided the survivors into groups diagnosed before age 50 and at age 50 or older, then examined changes according to their current age.
Overall, the findings were consistent with the common belief. Cancer survivors had an average DQI-I score of 69.1, three points higher than the 66.1 recorded for the general population. However, survivors diagnosed with cancer before age 50 showed different patterns depending on their current age. Those younger than 65 had diet quality scores three points higher than the general population, while those aged 65 or older scored 3.2 points lower.
In contrast, cancer survivors diagnosed at age 50 or older had diet quality scores 3.76 points higher than those of the general population across all age groups, regardless of their current age.
Baek Su-a said, "This study shows that patients diagnosed with cancer at a younger age need continued attention and support to maintain healthy eating habits as time passes. Because cancer survivors face a higher risk than the general population of developing chronic diseases, including second primary cancers, they need tailored nutritional counseling and regular dietary assessments that take into account their age at diagnosis and length of survival."
The findings, titled "Changes in Diet Quality Among Cancer Survivors According to Age at Cancer Diagnosis: Using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey," were published last July in the international academic journal Nutrients.

[email protected] Jung Myung-jin, medical correspondent Reporter