Eating less fat and cholesterol may lower an individual’s chances of developing breast cancer, according to recent research.

Data published in the American Journal of Pathology indicates that people who eat a high-fat diet may develop breast tumors at a much higher rate than those who consume a healthy, balanced regimen.

The researchers, oncologists and biologists at Thomas Jefferson University, observed the pattern in laboratory mice.

Mice fed a high-fat diet exhibited twice the amount of cancer their peers did, and their single tumors tended to be 50 percent larger.

Western diets, which often consist of processed foods and contain high levels of cholesterol, may be affecting breast cancer rates in the U.S., the team acknowledged.

Western nations have a five times higher incidence of the disorder compared to other developed countries, according to the study.

Cholesterol may give breast cancer cells the energy they need to rapidly multiply and spread, its lead author wrote.

The study concluded that its data on high cholesterol may give physicians and diagnosticians a valuable way to predict an individual’s risk of breast cancer.