Diet of Benghazi Cancer Patients; Quality and Associated Factors

Dietary habits and food consumption patterns in Libya have changed markedly during the past three decades and the Libyan cancer patients are not exception. There has been great move from traditional dishes and foods to more westernized food style, which is characterized by high sugar, high total fats, high cholesterol, high sodium and low fiber. The interaction of dietary intake, nutritional status and cancer is multifaceted and complex. This paper presents a cross-sectional study which aims to investigate the quality of diet among cancer patients in Benghazi. The total studied sample was 400 cancer patients, (27.8%) were males and (72.2%) were females. Mean age ± Standard Deviation were 52.8 years ± 11.5. (6.8%) of the subjects had poor diet quality, while (60%) of the subjects their diet need improvement, only (33.2%) had diet with good quality. Age, income level, food intolerances and allergies, food dislike, eating out, and food preferences were associated with quality of diet among cancer patients in Benghazi. Fruits and vegetables had the lowest consumption score, while sodium and cholesterol had the highest consumed score. All these factors call for community based intervention and prevention strategies.