Irregular meals, stress at work could lead to colon cancer: doctor
Source: Taiwan News
Central News Agency
2016-03-27 06:26 PM
Office workers who face great stress at work and have irregular meals are more likely to fall victim to colon cancer, a doctor said recently, adding thatTaiwan has the world’s highest incidence of colon cancer.
Having irregular meals due to busy work, eating salty and greasy food, eating too quickly and having too much red meat are among the factors that put office workers at high risk to develop colon polyps, said Chang Chia-lun, a doctor at Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital.
If people do not seek medical help to deal with polyps, chances are that polyps could lead to colon cancer 10 to 15 years later, said Chang, also a member of the Taipei-based Formosa Cancer Foundation.
Having colon polyps removed as early as possible will reduce the risk of colon cancer, he said.
He also noted that colon cancer tends to affect people over 50, with about 3,000 out of every 100,000 people in the age group suffering from the disease.
That may be because many people in their 30s or 40s often dedicate much of their time to work and do not pay attention to colon polyps that have developed, which later turned into malignancies, he said.
The disease, however, has also become more prevalent among the younger generation in recent years, he said.
A recent poll surveying 1,410 office workers aged between 30-59 found that 7.23 percent of them said they have colon polyps, Chang said.
Based on the findings, it was estimated that over 800,000 office workers inTaiwan are troubled by colon polyps, he said.
Eating more vegetables and fruits, high-fiber foods and yogurt drinks, but having less red meat would help reduce the risk of colon polyps, he said, while urging those aged below 50 to conduct regular health checks and exercise at least three times a week.
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