Cancer, Nutrition, and Eating Behavior: A Biobehavioral Perspective

The majority of cancer-related deaths are associated with nutritional problems. The major role that nutrition and diet play in the development and course of cancer had only been recently appreciated, and relatively little had been written on the topic in general. A critical component of nutrition and diet is eating behavior. Originally published in 1985, the purpose of this book was to meet the needs of both the clinician and the researcher by bringing together data and theory about nutrition and cancer from several disciplines, as considered from a biobehavioral perspective.

The first chapter of the book provides an overview of the purposes and organization of the volume. The rest is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 focuses on basic research concerned with the nature and development of taste aversions and taste preferences in human and animals. Part 2 applies the basic processes reviews in the first part to the cancer area, focusing on eating and nutritional problems related to both tumor development and to learned processes that develop as a result of being exposed to radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments. Part 3 focuses on identifying and evaluating intervention strategies for improving the nutritional status of people with cancer or at high risk for developing cancer.