The relationship between diet and cancer among Seventh-day Adventists will be the focus of the largest-ever health study to be conducted by Loma Linda University’s school of public health. The university, located in southern California, United States, has secured a grant from the National Institutes of Health for the study, which will concentrate on cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate.

Dr. Gary Fraser, director of the university’s Center for Health Research, will look at many factors, including soy, calcium, and meat consumption. He notes that earlier studies have demonstrated evidence of a correlation between meat consumption and colon cancer.

The study, which requires the participation of 125,000 Adventist Church members, will be the first to compare rates of cancer among Adventists, rather than between Adventists and a control group made up of other members of the community. It will also attempt to target some 45,000 Black Adventists. The Black community experiences almost twice the average rates of prostate cancer, as well as higher rates of colon cancer, says Fraser.

Participants in the study will be found on a church-by-church basis during a four-year enrollment period, explains Fraser. Preparation for enrollment has already started and church members across the United States will be contacted starting in January 2002.

Dr. Allan Handysides, director of health ministries for the Adventist world church, believes the study holds exciting possibilities. “Within Adventism, there are subsets with slight variations in lifestyle,” explains Handysides. “By comparing these groups, we’ll be able to more precisely identify factors that contribute to a healthy, disease-free life.”

“This is a significant study,” adds Handysides. “The number of Adventists around the world is growing, and in the area of healthy lifestyle, we are a showcase to the world.”

He encourages local church pastors and members to get involved when they are approached to participate in the study.

Over the past three decades, Loma Linda University’s Center for Health Research has conducted groundbreaking research into the impact of many Adventist health practices. In July this year, Fraser announced the results of one 12-year study showing that the lifestyle habits practiced by many Adventists contribute to a longer-than-average life.

Loma Linda University and Medical Center, Adventist facilities established in 1905, are internationally known for developing new treatments in areas including heart transplant surgery and non-invasive proton beam therapy for prostate and breast cancer.