Study on aspartame finds no increased cancer risk for diet-beverage guzzlers

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A huge federal study in people -- not rats -- takes the fizz out of arguments that the diet soda sweetener aspartame might raise the risk of cancer.

No increased risk was seen even among people who gulped down many artificially sweetened drinks a day, said researchers who studied the diets of more than half a million older Americans.

A consumer group praised the study, done by reputable researchers independent of any funding or ties to industry groups. Findings were reported Tuesday at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute studied 340,045 men and 226,945 women, ages 50 to 69. Over five years, 2,106 developed blood-related cancers such as lymphoma or leukemia, and 376 developed brain tumors. No link was found to aspartame consumption for these cancers in general or for specific types, said Unhee Lim, who reported the study's findings.

FAT EPIDEMIC

Obesity rate levels off among women

More American children are getting fat, with more than one-third now overweight. More of their dads are getting heavy, too. But the percentage of women who are overweight seems to have peaked. Overall, larger proportions of the U.S. public are overweight than ever before, according to the government's most accurate recent check of the nation's girth.

Some experts think the leveling off in women could signal a turning point in the nation's obesity epidemic.

"Women have always been more responsible about health than the general population," said Dr. William Dietz of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which reported the new data.

Another piece of research also suggests a turn. The NPD Group, a market research firm, found the percentage of overweight adults has held steady from 2002 to 2005.

The CDC report is being published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

INSOMNIA

Chronic problems affect millions

Chronic sleeping problems afflict as many as 70 million Americans, costing the nation billions in medical expenses, accidents and lost productivity, a new study reports.

"Balm of hurt minds" to Shakespeare, sleep seems to be necessary for the nervous system to work properly, and a lack of sleep can hamper the immune system, cause memory impairment and reduce ability to concentrate.

As many as 30 million Americans, more than one in 10, suffer specifically from chronic insomnia, according to the study released Tuesday by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Other disorders ranging from sleep apnea -- breathing interruptions during sleep -- to sleepwalking and restless leg syndrome affect millions more, the study found.

LONGEVITY

Low-cal diet shown to cut DNA damage

Longevity researchers say they've shown for the first time that following a strict low-calorie diet can decrease DNA damage linked with aging.

Some people who took part in the six-month study ate as little as 890 calories a day. Their insulin levels fell and metabolisms slowed -- changes that are thought to increase longevity.

The findings are provocative, but preliminary. Longer-term research will try to sort out whether such changes can meaningfully extend people's lives, said senior author Eric Ravussin of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.

The study appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.