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One in 10 people has tried to cut down on processed meats such as bacon in the wake of a report linking them to cancer, a survey suggests.

Older people among the 2,124 questioned were most likely to have done this.

A World Cancer Research Fund report last year said those eating two rashers of bacon and two sausages a day faced a 63% higher risk of bowel cancer.

A bowel cancer charity said other factors, including smoking and alcohol, were also key.

The cancer prevention report highlighted the evidence for the potential dangers of processed meat, but also pointed to other elements of diet and lifestyle which could either reduce or increase cancer risk.

A quarter of those questioned in the online survey said they had tried to eat more fruits and vegetables as a result of media coverage of the report, while 18% of people said they were making more effort to watch their weight, after the report described evidence linking excess weight to six forms of cancer.

Heavy consumption of red meat has already been linked to bowel cancer, and 11% of those asked said they had been trying to cut down.

Gut chemicals

However, scientists believe that chemicals created during the curing or processing of meat pose an additional threat to the cells lining the gut.

Among the over-55s, 37% said they had tried to reduce their intake of processed meat.

Younger people were less motivated, with only 6% of them doing this.

Richard Evans, the head of communications for the World Cancer Research Fund, said: "This survey shows that if people are told how they can reduce their risk of cancer then many of them will make changes.

"However, recent market research has shown that despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of our report, many people are still unaware of how things like diet and physical activity affect cancer risk."

The survey also found nearly two in five people were trying to be more physically active, and 9% were trying to cut down on alcohol in response to health messages.

A spokesman for Bowel Cancer UK said: "There is increasing evidence that lifestyle issues such as poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise are directly linked to an increased risk of the disease.

"We recommend that people who eat a diet high in processed meats cut down and eat more fruit and vegetables, but it is also important to remember to not focus on this alone.

"There are many other factors that might contribute to an increased risk of bowel cancer, such as smoking and an excess of alcohol, which should not be ignored."

The Facebook website has opened a huge lead in Australia in the number of users it attracts against social networking rivals including News Corp's MySpace.

Six months ago Facebook and MySpace were close to even in user numbers. Facebook was just 30,000 ahead. But the latest figures from Nielsen Online show Facebook's popularity has soared, topping 3.5 million users in September, more than 1 million ahead of MySpace, which has declined marginally since being pipped by the upstart for the top ranking in April.

But in the 12 months to September MySpace has lost 400,000 users. Facebook in the US says its worldwide user base has more than doubled since January from 50 million to 120 million two weeks ago.

Facebook does have some growth challenges. In Australia it has been hit by a slump in the amount of time Australian users spend on its site, a measurement increasingly seen by online publishers and advertisers as a critical indicator for attracting advertising.

Australian users spent about 34 minutes per session in April but that fell to 19 minutes in June. Time spent on others such as MySpace and Bebo are unchanged. The rapid fall in usage times for Facebook began in May and levelled off in June and has consistently ranked lower than its three main social networking rivals: MySpace (27 minutes), Bebo (25 minutes) and Friendster (20 minutes).

Alan Long, the Asia-Pacific research director for Hitwise, which measures online audience trends, said a year-long view of session times across all four networking sites showed Facebook had a dramatic rise in the length of time users were spending on the site starting in February, but this had settled back to usage times it was experiencing late last year. Mr Long could not explain the sudden rise and fall of session times.

Other social networking observers, however, said research was detecting "early but real" public concerns about privacy issues on social networking sites and that people could be reducing their involvement.

"People are starting to slowly but surely become fully aware of what the consequences may be of putting your life out there for public scrutiny and how it might be used by others in a context that's inappropriate," Saatchi & Saatchi's planning director, Bram Williams, said. "We are pioneering new ground with respect to the way we manage our public persona. There is obviously a lot of attraction for these things but the ethical issues are not necessarily thought through at the outset."

A Facebook spokeswoman in the United States could not explain to the Herald the dramatic fall in usage times but suggested something similar had occurred in Japan this year. She said it might be linked to a new Facebook chat service which required people earlier this year to spend more time on the site learning how it worked.

The spokeswoman acknowledged privacy concerns were on the rise and there was a need to raise awareness of some of Facebook's new privacy options, which included the option to exclude anyone on a friend list.

"You can, for example, upload your family vacation photo album and share it only with your mum and dad or only your family friend list. Alternatively, you can restrict them from seeing a photo album that may not be so family-friendly by allowing your friends except these people on this list to see it."

Calling older patients "dearie" or "love" is set to be ruled out as offensive by new guidelines from the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Nurses should speak "courteously and respectfully" and use patients' preferred names, the NMC recommends.

But terms of endearment can be used in some areas if they are part of everyday speech - it may appear unusual if they are omitted, the draft guidance says.

The recommendations focus on the issues which matter most to elderly patients.

Guidance for the Care of Older People, which is awaiting approval from NMC Council members next week, advises against behaviour that could be deemed patronising, Nursing Standard magazine reveals.

Dignity drive

It says effective communication is one of the most essential skills that a nurse can have.

Poor communication can have serious consequences and can damage the relationship between a nurse and an older person.

The guidelines, constructed around the views of older people, fit with the government's drive for dignity in care.

They say nurses should communicate with older people not only by talking to them, but also by listening.

Nurses and midwives must also "make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity".

Although most nurses know that they should be doing this, the NMC said it was aware that nurses do not always do it.

Benchmark

An NMC spokeswoman said: "The guidance sets out what older people should expect when receiving care and therefore provides a framework to help nurses and midwives focus on the issues which matter most to them."

She said the guidance could be used to challenge poor standards of care and judge staff performance against.

They cover issues including respecting privacy and providing fundamental care like adequate fluids assistance with eating and personal hygiene when required.

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "We completely support these guidelines. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and that doesn't change when it comes to healthcare.

"For a long time we've been saying that nurses should ask patients how they would like to be addressed.

"The RCN Dignity campaign is about making sure that every nurse can take steps to make patients feel comfortable in potentially difficult circumstances. Addressing patients properly is one small step that staff can and have taken to improve care."

A spokeswoman from Age Concern said: "How hospital staff talk to older people is a small, but important part of considering their needs and wishes."

In a recent poll of more than 2,000, eight out of 10 nurses said they had left work distressed because they had been unable to treat patients with the dignity they deserved.