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It may be more important than ever to get your kids, and especially young girls, started on the right track nutritionally as soon as possible, thanks to a recent study that found the beginnings of breast cancer extend far earlier than scientists ever expected. The Danish study, that followed some 117,000 girls between 1930-75, found extra height and high birth weight are high factors for breast cancer and rapid growth in childhood and adolescence increases those chances.
Using several measures of weight and height during childhood -- high birth weight, rapid growth around the time of mammary-gland development, high stature and la ow body mass index at age 14 -- were all independent risk factors for breast cancer. Also, the height of a young woman at age 8 and her growth up to her 14th year were associated with an increased risk for breast cancer.
The link between cancer and these risk factors, one researchers says, may be connected to diet and nutrition, as both are tied to rapid growth during adolescence.
The good news: The concensus among researchers is the same diagnosis as I would recommend to any parents and their young girls: Eat nutritious meals and get plenty of exercise. In fact, normalizing your omega-3 and omega-6 fat ratios with fish oil could likely be even more important than exercise.
Yahoo News October 14, 2004