If you're worried about developing breast cancer, you're probably vigilant about mammograms and self-exams. But there's another factor you might consider to reduce your risks for the disease: your diet. While eating high-fat foods has not been shown to cause breast cancer directly, it could affect your risks if it leads to overweight or obesity.
Fat and Cancer
Being overweight is a well-established risk factor for developing certain kinds of cancer, and a 2009 report provided some grim details. The American Institute for Cancer Research compiled data showing that every year in the United States, 100,000 new cancer diagnoses are linked to people's excess body fat. For example, the report estimated that being overweight was linked with 49 percent of endometrial cancers, 35 percent of esophageal cancers, 28 percent of pancreatic cancers, 24 percent of kidney cancers, 9 percent of colorectal cancers and 17 percent of breast cancers.
The Calorie Connection
Research on American women has not established that eating high-fat foods leads to breast cancer or that eating low-fat foods helps you avoid cancer, according to a 2010 American Cancer Society report. "But it's clear that calories do count, and fat is a major source of these," the report explains. Maintaining a healthy weight appears to reduce your risk, as does exercising regularly and avoiding alcohol.
Your Weight and Breast Cancer
According to the 2009 American Cancer Society report on fat and breast cancer, there are several possible reasons for the link between overweight and breast cancer risk. Carrying too much body fat appears to raise levels of hormones such as estrogen and interfere with the work of insulin, both of which raise the risk for breast cancer. There's also evidence that being overweight creates chronic inflammation in the body, which is linked to cancer.
Assessing Risk
Obesity may pose more risk of breast cancer for women after menopause than before. According to the National Cancer Institute, obese women are at lower risk for breast cancer before menopause than are those who aren't overweight. But the risks of developing and dying from breast cancer rise after menopause, probably because of high estrogen in fat tissue. It's also more difficult to detect breast tumors in obese women, the NCI says, so their cancers are less likely to be caught early.
Recommendations
The American Cancer Society recommends that you aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables per day --- not because they are proven to prevent breast cancer, but because they provide fiber and low-calorie nutrients that can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your risk. And if you do develop breast cancer, you should know that gaining weight during and after treatment in linked to a poorer outcome, according to the ACS.
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