By studying the eating patterns of 312 women with breast cancer and 316 women who were cancer free, Visvanathan's team found that breast cancer was increased a significant 74 percent in women who ate flame-broiled foods more than twice per month compared with women who never ate flame-broiled foods.

"We saw similar results for increased meat consumption" in general, Visvanathan said. Women who ate more than 64 grams per day compared with those who ate less than or equal to 64 grams per day had a 43-percent higher risk of breast cancer.

However, a woman's ability to activate cancer-causing HCAs modified the risk of developing breast cancer. The NAT2 enzyme, short for N-acetyltransferase, activates HCAs, Visvanathan explained. Slow NAT2 metabolizers tend to produce less active HCAs than fast NAT2 metabolizers.

Visvanathan reported that women who were "rapid metabolizers" of NAT2 who ate more flame-broiled food and consumed more meat daily were much more likely to develop breast cancer than slow metabolizers who never ate flame-broiled food and meat.

Interestingly, in rapid NAT2 metabolizers who consumed flame-broiled food or a lot of meat, aspirin completely attenuated the increased risk of breast cancer, the researcher said.

"When we think of the biological mechanism," Visvanathan noted, "there is some experimental data to explain this, but we still need to explore this further." Some laboratory studies have suggested that aspirin may inhibit NAT2 activity. Overall, the relationship among aspirin, flame-broiled food consumption and NAT2 activity is "intriguing," Visvanathan said.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

BMI and waist size predict pre-diabetic state

Last Updated: 2006-11-15 13:23:57 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Both body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference appear to be useful in predicting cardiovascular risk and metabolic abnormalities in people who are insulin resistant, a prediabetic condition, according to Californian researchers.

Dr. Gerald M. Reaven and colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine hypothesized that BMI, the ratio of weight to height, and waist circumference might be equally effective in identifying insulin-resistant patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors.

To investigate further, the researchers examined 261 apparently healthy volunteers who had responded to advertisements about the study. Of this group, 133 were classified as obese, defined as having a BMI of 30 or greater.

As reported in the American Journal of Cardiology, the team found that several metabolism factors worsened as a function of increased obesity. Some of these included insulin sensitivity, a prediabetic condition in which normal insulin levels do not produce an adequate insulin response, and related metabolic cardiovascular risk factors, such as elevated triglycerides.

This was true regardless of whether BMI or waist circumference was used as the measure of excess fat.

However, increases in total and "bad" LDL cholesterol and decreases in "good" HDL-cholesterol concentrations were seen only in subjects with higher BMI values.

Summing up, Reaven told Reuters Health that it appears that "either BMI or waist circumference can be used by clinicians to help indicate whether a particular patient may be insulin resistant and at increased cardiovascular risk."

"However," he concluded, "since most patients have their height and weight determined when they see a physician, and it is easy to calculate BMI from these simple measurements, why not just stick with BMI?"

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, October 15, 2006.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.