Adults who had been fed plenty of fruit when they were children are less likely to suffer from certain types of cancer, British scientists said on Wednesday.

A medical study of nearly 4,000 men and women showed that the more fruits the adults had eaten when they were young the less likely they were to suffer from lung, bowel and breast cancer.

"This study shows that childhood fruit consumption may have a long term protective effect on cancer risk in adulthood," Dr. Maria Maynard of the Medical Research Council in London said.

All of the adults in the study had filled in a food inventory during the 1930s for a research study looking into the eating habits of families in rural and urban areas of England and Scotland. Maynard and her colleagues studied the medical records of the group up to July 2000, by which time 483 cases of cancer had been diagnosed. In addition to fewer cases of cance, a high consumption of fruit was associated with a lower death rate from all causes.

Fruits are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and other nutrients, which can help to prevent genetic damage that can lead to the development of cancer.

The scientists also studied the impact of vitamins C, E and beta carotene on cancer but they did not find any evidence that individual antioxidants were as protective as fruit.

(Agencies)