Dieters who wish to trim down or maintain their svelte figures have learned to distance themselves from high glycemic index (GI) foods. Unknowingly, their dietary choice might have protected themselves from lung cancer, the second most common type of cancer for both men and women.

People who eat a diet heavy on white bread, bagel, rice and other foods with high GI will increase their risk of getting lung cancer by 49% according to the Telegraph citing a recent study.

Dr Stephanie Melkonian of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who is the lead author of the study, told Telegraph that "We observed a 49 percent increased risk of lung cancer among subjects with the highest daily GI compared to those with the lowest daily GI."

Researchers also found that people who consumed the highest daily consumption of GI foods had a 92 percent higher risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma of the lung according to a FoxNews article reporting on the same study.

Although Dr Melkonian admits additional testing has to be done to pinpoint exactly how the mechanism works, she suspects that these high GI diets could "promote perturbations in the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs)."

Originally, the glycemic index is used to rate food items based on how they affect blood sugar levels according to Perrin Braun's article in Inside Tracker. The scale ranges from 1 to 100, where 70-100 are considered high while food rated between 0-55 is considered low GI. This is especially helpful for diabetics and dieters who want to avoid that blood sugar spikes commonly attributed to high GI food consumption.

Previous studies have already linked sugary high GI foods to certain cancer types. For example, a study done in 2007 have linked high GI food consumption to an overall increase in colorectal cancer cases. This latest study will likewise bolster the case of certain groups who are currently waging an information campaign to highlight the dangers posed by sugar, a common high GI household item.