The Study
Associations between overall, healthful, and unhealthful low-fat dietary patterns and breast cancer risk in a Mediterranean cohort: The SUN project.
This study found that women who ate certain unhealthy low-fat foods were a bit more likely to get breast cancer after menopause, but it doesn’t prove those foods caused it — it just saw a pattern. Think of it like noticing that people who wear red socks often trip — maybe they’re just clumsy, not because of the socks.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Some low-fat diets are full of unhealthy foods like sugary snacks and processed meats. This study looked at women who ate those kinds of low-fat diets and found they were more likely to get breast cancer after menopause.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 552 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — more than double the risk is a big increase, especially for a common cancer like breast cancer.
- 2Women who moderately followed an unhealthy low-fat diet had 2.18 times the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer compared to those who followed it the least.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrition
Year
2023
Authors
Inmaculada Aguilera-Buenosvinos, M. Martínez-González, I. Zazpe, A. Romanos-Nanclares, R. Sánchez-Bayona, E. Toledo
Related Content
Claims (2)
It’s not just about eating less fat or less carbs—it’s more about whether the foods you eat are healthy (like veggies and whole grains) or unhealthy (like sugary snacks and processed meats).
Women in their 40s to 60s who eat a low-fat diet that’s not very healthy are about twice as likely to get breast cancer after menopause compared to women who follow that same kind of diet less closely, based on a study that followed them for over 12 years.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.