LONDON Women should eat less and exercise more to reduce their risk of breast cancer, researchers said.

A diet high in fruits, vegetables and fiber is recommended to stay fit and healthy. New research from scientists at the Institute of Public Health in Krakow, Poland shows that diet and energy are linked to concentrations of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which play an important role in breast cancer.

"The risk of breast cancer may be modified if changes are made in a woman's lifestyle," Grazyna Jasienska said in a report in the ***British Medical Journal***.

"An increase in physical activity and decrease in caloric intake may lead to lower concentrations of progesterone and estrogen, resulting in a reduction in breast cancer risk."

Women living in developed countries, where food is plentiful, have a higher risk of breast cancer than women in poor nations.

Jasienska and a team of researchers studied levels of the two hormones in women from Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, Poland and the United States and compared them with the breast cancer rates in each country.

They also looked at the exercise and energy levels in the women. The researchers found that high concentrations of progesterone were associated with a higher risk of the disease but could be modified through diet and exercise.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. An estimated one in eight women will develop it at some time during their life.

(Reuter)