Weight Gain Link To Breast Cancer
May 22nd 2006
Women who put on weight during adulthood massively increase their risk of getting breast cancer, researchers warned today. 
Gaining more than sixty pounds - or 130 kg - after the age of 18 trebles the risk of being diagnosed with the most severe form of breast cancer, researchers found.
The study involving more than 44,000 women is said to be the first to link obesity to specific kinds of breast cancer.
Researchers said being overweight increased the risk of disease because it increased oestrogen levels in the body.
Women who gained more than 60 pounds faced a three times increased risk of having metastatic - or spreading - breast cancer and a 1.5 times increased risk of developing lobular type breast cancers.
The study involved women who had not taken hormone replacement therapy - as this may counteract the impact of obesity.
Researcher Dr Heather Feigelson writes: "These data further illustrate the relationship between adult weight gain and breast cancer, and the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight through-out adulthood."
Cancer on-line May 22 2006
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