Eating Saturated-fat, Low Unsaturated-fat Diet in Adolescence Linked to Higher Breast Density, Study Finds

Teenage girls who intakes higher saturated fats and lower in healthier unsaturated fats have higher breast density in early adulthood, which may lead to increased risk for breast cancer later in their life, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Researchers looked into 177 girls, ages 10 to 18 at the beginning of the study, who periodically filled out dietary recall questionnaires. The scientists checked breast density by M.R.I. when the members of the group were 25 to 29 years old.

"Our results suggest possible long-term effects of fat intake during adolescence on young adult breast composition," says the study's lead author, Seungyoun Jung, DSc, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "This is the first comprehensive prospective analysis to examine the long-term effect of adolescent intake of subtypes of fat on breast density."

"Breast tissue is most sensitive to exposures during adolescence, when breasts develop and undergo structural changes," said the study's leader, Seungyoun Jung, in a press release.  

Average dense breast volume in those in the lowest quarter for saturated fat intake was 16.4 percent, compared with 21.5 percent for those in the highest quarter.

Saturated fats are those rich in meat, cheese, butter and other dairy products while rich sources of unsaturated fats including nuts, avocados and vegetable oils.

Plant-based foods have lately been linked to decreasing the risk and/or pain caused by other illnesses including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and prostate cancer.

The study appears in the June issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.