Potter chairs 5 A Day panel for NCI

Science Article

Dr. John Potter, head of the Hutch's Cancer Prevention Research Program, recently chaired a National Cancer Institute advisory panel for the 5 A Day Program, a project aimed at increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables.

The panel, which also included Public Health Sciences investigator Dr. Alan Kristal, issued a report last December recommending that NCI expand the communications budget of the 10-year-old program, which was initiated to encourage Americans to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day to improve health and prevent cancer.

The program began in 1991 as a collaboration between NCI, the Produce for Better Health Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has sponsored research efforts on nutrition, behavioral change and program evaluation.

In 1999, NCI established a 5 A Day Program evaluation group to review its science and implementation and assess whether project goals have been met.

The evaluation group found that since the program's initiation, more evidence - including Hutch studies - has accumulated to support the hypothesis that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce risk for certain cancers.

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