High Fat Diet During Puberty can Raise Breast Cancer Risk

High-fat diet during early teenage could increase breast cancer risk in women, a new study has found.

The study, conducted by researchers at Michigan State University, found that changes during puberty could alter genetic signature in certain breast cells, which is similar to basal-like cancers.

"This is very significant because even though the cancers arise from random mutations, the gene signature indicating a basal-like breast cancer shows the overarching and potent influence this type of diet has in the breast," said Sandra Haslam, physiology professor in MSU's College of Human Medicine and one of the lead investigators of the project.

Previous research has shown that high fat diet during pregnancy can increase risk of breast cancers in subsequent generations. The present study, based on pre-clinical models, adds to the growing body of literature that a diet high in fat, especially saturated fat, can result in long-term health complication.

The study was conducted on animal models.  A set of female mice were kept on high fat diet while others were given foods low in fat. After four weeks, researchers studied their genetic signature and found that mice on high-fat diet had alterations in breast tissue genes when compared with mice on regular diet, according to Medical Daily.

"It's important to note that since our experimental model did not involve any weight gain from the high-fat diet, these findings are relevant to a much broader segment of the population than just those who are overweight," said Richard Schwartz, microbiology professor and associate dean in the College of Natural Science. "This shows the culprit is the fat itself rather than weight gain."

Schwartz said that further research is required to establish a link between high-fat diet and cancers in women. However, he added that it is always better to have a balance diet from an early age to reduce future health complications.

The study is published in the journal Breast Cancer Research.