High saturated fat and meat consumption lowers the risk of prostate cancer

This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer 1997 Nov 27;73(5):634-8

 

Study title and authors:

Dietary fat intake and risk of prostate cancer: a prospective study of 25,708 Norwegian men.

Veierød MB, Laake P, Thelle DS.

Section of Medical Statistics, University of Oslo, Norway. marit.veierod@basalmed.uio.no

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9398038

This study investigated the relationship between diet and prostate cancer. The study included 25,708 men aged 16-56 years who were followed for up to 15 years.

The study found:
(a) Men who consumed the most saturated fat had a 30% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to men who consumed the least saturated fat.
(b) Men who consumed the most meat had a 60% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to men who consumed the least meat.
(c) Men who drank whole milk had a 120% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared to men who drank skimmed milk.
(d) Men who consumed the most polyunsaturated fat had a 40% increased risk of prostate cancer compared to men who consumed the least polyunsaturated fat.
(e) Men who drank skimmed milk had a significantly higher body mass index compared to men who drank whole milk.

The study suggests that a high saturated fat and meat consumption lowers the risk of prostate cancer.