Poor childhood diet linked to cancer

Published on 18/09/2012 00:00

Poor diet early in life may predispose women to develop breast cancer, research suggests.

A US study of young mice showed a diet linked to obesity and harmful metabolic changes stimulated early breast growth. It also led to abnormal tissues that may produce breast cancer.

Lead researcher Dr Russ Hovey, from the University of California at Davis, said: “The findings of this study are particularly important when we superimpose them on data showing that girls are experiencing breast development at earlier ages, coincident with a growing epidemic of childhood obesity.”