The U.S. researchers say that in a study of American nurses they found that one additional serving of fries per week, at ages three to five, increased breast cancer risk by 27 percent.

Study leader, Dr. Karin Michels, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School, says that research is finding more evidence that diet early in life could play a role in the development of diseases in women later in life.

She says 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.

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

The researchers looked at the women's diets and at questionnaires filled out by the mothers of the participants.

They say that one risk factor for breast cancer stood out, women whose mothers who said their daughters ate french fries, had a higher risk of breast cancer, and this risk increased 27 percent for each weekly serving reportedly eaten.

Michels does say however that as the data was dependent on the validity of the maternal recall of the diet the results must be interpreted cautiously.

She says that as mothers were asked to recall their daughter's preschool diet after the participants' breast cancer status was known, it is possible that mothers of women with breast cancer recalled their daughter's diet differently than mothers of healthy women.

Apparently other foods perceived as less healthy, such as hot dogs or ice cream, were not associated with breast cancer risk.

Previous research has also linked a high-fat diet with breast cancer.

Breast cancer affects more than 200,000 U.S. women a year and is expected to kill 40,000 this year.

The study is published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Information about weight, eating and exercise were collected during the survey. Participants were monitored for 24 hours on their food intake and also questioned about nine leisure-time physical activities (walking a mile or more at a time without stopping, jogging or running, bike riding, aerobic dancing or exercise, dancing, swimming, calisthenics, garden or yard work, and weight lifting). If individuals reported five or more moderate physical activities or three intensive activity sessions a week, it was considered healthy. Weight was considered within normal range if it fell within the body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m (obesity was considered at 25 kg/m ).

The researchers concluded that the healthy behaviors such as exercise and diet that lower the risks of diabetes also can lower the risk factors for periodontitis. Exercise--also known to reduce the C-reactive protein in the blood associated with inflammation in the heart and periodontal disease. Healthy eating habits, which builds the body's defenses against disease, also reduce the production of plaque biofilm, which is the primary epidemiological factor associated with periodontal disease.

Conquering periodontal disease, according to the researchers, may mean more than just targeting the disease but addressing multiple risk behaviors, too.

"Since oral health professionals may see their patients two or four times a year, it gives them several opportunities to promote these healthy behaviors," report the researchers.

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