Weight Gain Can Lead to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is increasingly becoming one of our times’ big health threats. The growing numbers of breast cancer sufferers is a proof that we need to understand this problem and find ways and means of its prevention and cure. New findings are discovering that there is something in pour lifestyle that may be increasing our risk of breast cancer.

Women need to watch their weight

And that is just one more reason why women need to watch their weight. Cutting edge research being conducted in the United States of America has recently led to the publication of these findings. The research shows that post menopausal women who are obese (in medical terms, those who have a Body Mass Index or BMI of greater than 30) have about double the risk of breast cancer as compared to women who fall in the healthy body weight category.

This research, conducted by the U.S. National Cancer Institute has studied about 72, 000 women. The researchers studied only those women who had suffered from breast cancer and had never taken hormone replacement therapy, which itself can boost the risk of breast cancer. Compared with women who maintained about the same weight at the age of 50 as they had at about the age of 20, researchers found that those women who had gained about 30 pounds over the years had increased their risk of breast cancer to double.

Researchers have not yet been able to identify exactly what it is about weight gain that increases breast cancer risk, and studies are underway to determine the causes. Conjecture is that it could be because of the excess oestrogen produced as a result of increased body fat. Doctors in India, though, are reluctant to either confirm or denounce these findings. But, they advise, it may be wiser to err on the side of caution.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating right and exercising can only be good for you.

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