Day 022 - 12 Sep 94 - Page 35
1
2 Q. -- than the others?
3 A. No, I cannot.
4
5 Q. If you were arguing with someone about this, what sort of
6 argument could you put against your point of view, that is
7 what you are asking, Mr. Morris?
8
9 MR. MORRIS: Let me just throw up some things that may be
10 useful. For example, as I have said, the differences
11 between one country and another maybe quite easily
12 identified. Here we have a rural population, low fat
13 diet, whatever, and here we have, you know, people in a
14 highly industrialised western society, and that kind of
15 difference may not be so obvious within a particular
16 country?
17 A. That is true.
18
19 Q. So that is one advantage?
20 A. It is an advantage.
21
22 Q. Another advantage might be, for example, the China study
23 that has been briefly alluded to on fat intake and linked
24 to cancer -- it is Colin Campbell's study which we might
25 come to a bit later on -- that the intake of fat was very
26 low in rural China. I cannot remember if it was the whole
27 of China but certainly in a great amount of the cases?
28 A. Was it not just a province of China?
29
30 Q. I think it was about 65 different provinces of China were
31 looked at. But the point was the fat intake was
32 exceptionally low, down to 15 or 10 per cent of average,
33 or something, whereas, for example, in the nurses survey
34 the -----
35 A. Quintiles.
36
37 Q. -- quintiles of the five sections of the fat intake looked
38 at, the lowest one I do not think was less than 25 per
39 cent or something. So, in other words, to see whether fat
40 was linked to cancer. That is a case, is it not, where a
41 population study may have an advantage?
42 A. Well, that is not strictly a population study, you
43 see, that -----
44
45 Q. No, the China one?
46 A. Yes, but I think, in fact, did they not just study the
47 population within that particular group? They were not
48 comparing -- population studies are traditionally where
49 you actually look at differences between different
50 countries.
51
52 Q. I think that is what they were doing; they were saying
53 this is a study of China and the conclusion were such -- I
54 do not know; we will have to have a look at that one.
55 But, just take that as an example, that could be a benefit
56 of a population study where here you have a very -- it
57 seems obvious to me -----
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Start again and put to Dr. Arnott what you
60 would suggest is the advantage of a population study over
