Obesity, as you're no doubt aware, is a fairly hot topic these days - for a variety of health-related reasons. For example, it is known to lead to chronic illnesses including heart disease and diabetes, which are currently on the rise at epidemic rates in North America. However, obesity is now believed to play a critical role in the development of breast cancer. Diet - as in how much and how often we eat affects development of breast tumors. Not surprisingly, perhaps, exercise is tied into this.

A study done at the National Cancer Institute (NCI, United States), presented during the American Association for Cancer Research meeting this October shows that calorie restriction or occasional fasting inhibits breast cancer growth. The study was done in mice, some of which were provided with an unlimited food supply. They rapidly became obese and developed fatal mammary tumors. However, the second group of mice that received a lower calorie intake, or fasted one day per week, lived tumor-free two to three times longer than the obese mice.