Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, Vol 9, 2008 569 Eating Kabits, Cancer Prevention Knowledge and HPLP in Turkish Adolescents Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev, 9, 569-574 Introduction Nutritional status and healthy lifestyle are important factors not only in cancer etiologic but also in prevention of cancer. Good nutritional status of persons is one of the important factors in living a healthy life with high economical, social and cultural level. Breast, colon and gastric cancers are the cancers that the nutritional status and lifestyle are among the etiological factors. Some wrong nutritional behavior also has an important role in the development of mouth, larynx, lung, and breast and liver cancers (Greenwald et al., 2001; Murillo and Mehta 2001). Eating habits are important; especially there is the evidence that diet may affect the risk of cancer in adolescence (Frazier et al. 2003). There has been considerable number of studies trying to explain the relation between cancer and nutrition in the last 25 years (Terry et al., 2001; Dyer et al., 2004; Michael 2004). Many cohort studies have shown that intake of enough amounts of fruits and vegetables have a preventive effect on cancer development, and vice versa 1 Izmir Ataturk School of Health, 2 Department of Food Engineering ,Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey *For correspondence: hafize.ozturk@ege.edu.tr Abstract Backgr ound: Nutritional status and healthy lifestyle are important factors not only in cancer etiology but also for prevention efforts. A good nutritional status contributes to a healthy life with high economic, social and cultural level. Unhealthy eating habits are part of risky behavior seen from adolescence. The present study was therefore carried out to determine eating habits, level of knowledge about cancer prevention and behavior of a group of adolescents. Methods: Data were collected using questionnaire covering eating habits and knowledge of adolescents on prevention from cancer, and special scale (HPLP) to determine the related behavior. Three hundred sixty six of 390 students volunteered for study. Results: Eating habits and the level of cancer prevention knowledge were similar for both genders, except for the exercise issue. The mean total points of adolescents in the Health Promotion Behavior and Subscales was 113,63. While spiritual growth had the highest score in HPLP subscale, exercise had a minimal score. Exercise was the only HPLP subscale with a statistically significant difference between male and female genders. Conclusions: Although they have some information, the adolescents surveyed did not have preventive skills relative to their practical life. In general in order to ensure cancer prevention and a healthy life style social, cultural and sportive activities should be encouraged and educational programmes supporting these goals should be designed and applied for all stages of life, starting in early childhood. Key Words: Adolescence - nutrition - eating habits - cancer prevention - HPLP scale (Serdula et al., 1995; 1996; Van Duyn and Pivonka, 2000; Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2003). The complex process of carcinogenesis is mainly due to environmental factors and therefore preventable. Diet may account for about 35% of cancer cases; -risk factors and protective factors are discussed (Eichholzer, 1997). In accordance with the results of previously published studies; especially fruits and vegetables probably reduce the risk for cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach and colorectal, and diets should include at least 400 g/d of total fruits and vegetables. Preserved meat and red meat probably increase the risk for colorectal cancer; if eaten, consumption of these foods should be moderate. Salt preserved foods and high salt intake probably increase the risk for stomach cancer; overall consumption of salt preserved foods and salt should be moderate (Key et al., 2004). Overweight/obesity increases the risk factor for the cancers of the esophagus (adenocarcinoma), colorectal, breast (postmenopausal), endometrial and kidney; body weight should be maintained in the body mass index range RESEARCH COMMUNICATION Eating Habits, Knowledge about Cancer Prevention and the HPLP Scale in Turkish Adolescents Hafize Ozturk Can 1 , Esin Ceber 1 , Neriman Sogukpinar 1 , Birsen Karaca Saydam 1 , Semih Otles 2 , Gulsun Ozenturk 1