Nearly 8 million people die of cancer in the world every year, and 70 percent of them live in low-income or medium-income countries. "World Cancer Day" was held on Feb. 4, and health professionals took the opportunity to address this health crisis. This year's theme highlighted an appreciation for a healthy and lively childhood. Health experts believe that malignant tumors have become a major killer of children in China. A new campaign strives to prevent cancer from developing in children.
According to a report from Xinhua Net on Feb 3, Professor Pang Da, President of Heilongjiang’s Anti-Cancer Association, said that malignant tumors have been increasing among children over the past decade. Every year, nearly 200 children die from cancer in Harbin City alone. A growing number of health experts believe that childhood obesity is the culprit behind the high rates of various types of cancers.
Pang is alarmed by the growing number of overweight children. He notes that overweight children are more likely to become obese adults who develop cancer. If this trend continues, Pang says, this current child obesity problem will lead to a large scale outbreak of cancer in the future.
“Obesity is responsible for many issues including high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, fatty liver, and may even lead to cancers,” says Sun Aiming, former Vice Chairman of China’s Red Cross Society of China. “There is a relatively high rate of leukemia among children nowadays.”
Sun adds that air pollution also contributes greatly to the high rate of the blood cancer in children. “Some carcinogenic substances in the atmosphere have a greater impact on children than adults,” she said.
To prevent obesity, Zheng Lixin, a Maryland based pediatrician, asks parents to provide their children with a healthy diet and regular routine medical examinations.
“Parents should act responsibility by keeping their kids away from junk food,” Zheng explained. “Annual medical checkups are also a very important step in detecting deeper health issues. Parents might take their child to get vaccines, but they forget to see doctors for routine checkups.”
“I don’t think many people understand what causes cancer,” explained Sun. “But they can easily understand childhood obesity, and the high blood pressure and heart problems that develop as a consequence. However, we also need to pay special attention to problems caused by exposing children to toxic chemicals. For example, formaldehyde used in home decoration materials can cause problems in the hematopoietic system for kids, or even leukemia.”
“Everyone should be protected from illness, including children,” said Shen Jie, deputy director of Disease Control and Prevention Center. “The promotion of cancer prevention methods is not enough. We should also strengthen health supervision. We need to work harder so that everyone can live a healthier life.”
Read original article in Chinese.