ABSTRACT
Introduction It is estimated that poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity may be responsible for 30% of all cancers. The relationship between nutrition and cancer has been known for centuries and, during the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279), Yong-He Yan already described the relationship between malnutrition and esophageal cancer. Food deficiencies are responsible for cancer in economically underdeveloped regions, whereas an imbalance between physical activity and energy supply, exposure to carcinogens, and an oversupply of sugars and fat are the main factors in the economically developed countries.
