Abstract The insulin‐like growth factor axis is highly responsive to nutritional status and may be involved as one of the underlying mechanisms through which caloric restriction could affect cancer risk. High levels of circulating insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐I, or IGF‐I relative to IGF binding protein (IGFBP)‐3 have been related to various human cancer types. In a group of 87 postmenopausal women, we found that childhood exposure to the 1944–1945 Dutch famine was associated with increased plasma levels of IGF‐I and IGFBP‐3, whereas IGFBP‐1 and ‐2 levels were weakly decreased. These results are opposite to immediate responses seen under starvation and we hypothesize that this could indicate a permanent overshoot upon improvement of nutritional status after the famine. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.