Following an eating pattern lower in total fat did not significantly reduce the incidence of breast cancer, heart disease, or stroke, and did not reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in healthy postmenopausal women, according to the latest clinical trial results from the National Institutes of Health's Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

The study was designed to evaluate a low-fat dietary pattern's effect on the risk of cancer. However, investigators also evaluated the data to review the effect on cardiovascular disease. The results from the largest ever clinical trial of low-fat diet are reported in three papers in the February 8 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

To read the full release, please go to: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/feb2006/nhlbi-07.htm.