[sunnyjohn]

Children who eat fries raise breast cancer risk


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Very young children who eat French fries frequently have a much higher risk of breast cancer as adults, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

A study of American nurses found that one additional serving of fries per week at ages three to five increased breast cancer risk by 27 percent.

"Researchers are finding more evidence that diet early in life could play a role in the development of diseases in women later in life," said Dr. Karin Michels, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School, who led the study.

"This study provides additional evidence that breast cancer may originate during the early phases of a woman's life and that eating habits during that phase may be particularly important to reduce future risk of breast cancer."

For their study, Michels and colleagues used an ongoing survey of female registered nurses. They studied 582 women with breast cancer and 1,569 women free of breast cancer in 1993.

---------

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/...20050808PAR08D

[BlevinsRN]

That is an interesting article. While I have always believed that proper nutrition is imperative at a young age, it is nice to see research that supports my beliefs. I could go on for days about the whole childhood obesity issue but I will spare you. I am not surprised that we have found another disease that can be potentiated by a high fat diet.

I have a problem with the fact that parents know about the risks of diabetes and heart disease due to eating a high fat diet and they still get their kids fast food more often than they cook well-balanced meals. On the other hand, I do understand that today's society is different than it used to be and people do not have as much time as they used to. Fast food is very convenient.

I am curious to see how this will affect healthcare in the next generations. In the future, it probably won't be uncommon at all for someone in their 20s to come in with a heart attack or to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

I believe that it is important that kids learn healthy eating behaviors at an early age because it is something that stays with them when they become older and it teaches them how to eat a balanced diet. Not to mention that it is crucial at a young age when they are growing physically.

Okay I'll quit my lecturing and ranting. All this talk about french fries gave me a real craving for McDonalds