Eating fat or being fat and risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer among women.

This article first reviews the relationship between intake of saturated fat and cholesterol and atherosclerosis; then the relationship between fat intake, obesity, and disease; and finally, some of the determinants of obesity and weight gain. The percentage of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet is the major determinant of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease among populations. In addition, fat intake is directly related to obesity. The degree of obesity is a major determinant of blood glucose and insulin, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. Weight gain, especially after adolescence, and high fat intake may contribute, to a greater extent, to metabolically active intra-abdominal fat and risk of disease. Fat in diet, weight gain, or obesity may play an important role in sex-steroid hormone metabolism. Hormonal changes may contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer. The risks associated with eating fat may be related to the time of development of obesity (i.e., weight gain) and the balance between effects on sex-steroid hormone metabolism and insulin-glucose metabolism.