"SAVE OUR BACON" storms the Sun. It is, for once, a reasonable literal headline from the redtop. The paper is worried by the latest anti-cancer health advice which has emerged from the experts, this time from the largest ever review of links between diet and cancer, incorporating more than 7,000 studies.
Among warnings to stay thin, take exercise and eat greens and grains is the recommendation to avoid processed meats such as ham, bacon and salami. Or, as the Sun puts it, "butties branded killers".
The paper draws on celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson ("if they have their way we'll all turn into vegetarians") and a pig farmer ("bacon sandwiches are one of the few pleasures in life") to lead the forces in the "butty battle".
The Mail is also dubious about the experts' advice. "So what IS safe to eat?" it despairs. It says there is a "growing medical and food industry backlash" against the £4.5m, five-year study.
The Times focuses on the weight implications of the study and the findings that being even slightly overweight can increase the risk of at least six different types of cancer, including breast, bowel and pancreatic. The paper says the finding is particularly alarming given the expanding girth of the British population.
"Fit towns" are the answer, reports the Guardian. The paper leads with the government's latest proposals on tackling this obesity epidemic - 10 healthy eco-cities to tackle the two great challenges of climate change and childhood obesity in one fell swoop.
The health secretary, Alan Johnson, wants Britain to follow the example of 10 French towns that have focused on young children and seen substantial cuts in obesity. Practical measures in new healthy towns being considered by ministers include regular weigh-ins for children starting as they leave primary school, increasing the number of cycle lanes, and designing safe walking routes to schools and from suburbs into the centre.
The paper says Mr Johnson is leading a cross-government drive to put the eco-towns concept at the cutting edge of the fight against obesity. Each new town is planned to house as many as 20,000 people. He has also been looking at tackling some of the least healthy cities in the north and London boroughs to see if progress can be made in redesigning existing towns.
This is an edited extract from the Wrap, our digest of the daily papers.
