Dr Lisa Wilde, director of research at the Breast Cancer Campaign, agreed that ???diet and lifestyle are significant breast cancer risk factors??™. She said, ???We would recommend that people who want to lower their risk of developing the disease reduce their alcohol consumption, take exercise whenever possible and maintain a healthy weight. However, it is important to remember that there are many other breast cancer risk factors and we cannot control two of the biggest ??“ age and family history of the disease. Therefore, finding breast cancer early when most treatable gives the best possible chance of survival ??“ so it is vital to be breast aware and report any changes to your GP.???

Dr Rachel Greig, Senior Policy Officer at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said, ???A woman??™s lifestyle choices don??™t mean for certain that she will or won??™t get breast cancer because genetic and environmental factors can also play a part.???

Audrey Birt, director of Breakthrough Breast Cancer in Scotland, added, ???This statistic isn't surprising because we already know living a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk of breast cancer. However, a woman's lifestyle choices don't mean for certain that she will or won't get breast cancer because genetic and environmental factors can also play a part. Breast cancer is a complex disease, which is why we're running the Breakthrough Generations Study across Scotland and the rest of the UK to pinpoint the exact causes.???