Oakland, Calif. – Top Bay Area medical researchers will spotlight new evidence showing why healthy eating and active living can greatly reduce cancer risks. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Bay Area Policy Forum will be held on Tuesday, August 21, starting at 5:00 p.m. at the Oakland Coliseum.
Gracious hosts, the Oakland A’s, are making it possible for attendees of the policy forum to also watch the Oakland A’s take on the Texas Rangers immediately following the forum.
ACS CAN’s newly released How Do You Measure Up? report that grades states based on how well they’re enacting cancer-fighting policies, says, next to avoiding tobacco, nutrition, physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight is the best way to prevent cancer. And legislation recently approved by the State Assembly, Senate Bill 1192, is a perfect example of how legislation can be nearly as important as medicine in fighting cancer.
If the bill is signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, it will be the first statewide law in the country to mandate milk or water as the default drink option in kids’ meals.
With the American Cancer Society findings now showing nearly 18 percent of all cancers are linked to excess body weight, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition, it is important that good nutrition starts early—and California is leading the way in showing how legislation can get kids on a healthy path that prevents cancer later in life.
Approximately 7 in 10 adults and 1 in 3 youths in this country are overweight or obese – more than double the rate from just 20 years ago. Children and teens who are overweight or obese are likely to remain so as adults, increasing their lifelong risk for harmful and costly diseases, including 13 forms of cancer.
WHEN:
Tuesday, August 21, 2018 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. (Check-in begins at 4:30 with hors d'oeuvres)
WHERE:
Oakland Coliseum, East Side Club, 70000 Coliseum Way, Oakland
WHO:
Marcia Stefanick, PhD is associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a leading pioneer in women's health research.
June Chan, ScD is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and Stacey Kenfield, ScD is an assistant professor of urology at University of California San Francisco.
Erik Muller, President of the San Francisco-based The Fruitguys. Erik is a husband, father and cancer survivor who lives an active life, while helping to promote healthier choices for others.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Cassie Ray, ACS CAN Bay Area Government Relations Director
[email protected]
707 290-0003
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.