Studies Link Obesity and Breast Cancer
By Kirsten Whittaker
In case you needed more of a reason to keep an eye on your
weight, recent research has found that, in general, obesity is
linked to cancer. For obese women, especially those who have
gone through menopause, this means an increased risk of breast
cancer. Though experts can't yet explain to us why the link is
there, they are working hard to figure it all out.
What we do know is that the higher your Body Mass Index (BMI)
the measurement of your weight against your height squared, the
more chance you have of developing cancer. This was confirmed by
an extensive data review of 140 studies by scientists at the
University of Manchester in England earlier this year. Other
work had found the same links between cancers and more body fat,
and in 2007 a report issued by the American Institute of Cancer
Research and the U.K.-based World Cancer Research Fund concluded
that body fat is associated with an increased risk for several
different types of cancer.
If that wasn't enough a recent study at the University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, found more than two-thirds of women
with stage III locally advanced breast cancer were overweight
(32%) or obese (34%). The research also found that a greater
number of obese patients were likely to be diagnosed with
inflammatory breast cancer - a rare and more deadly form of this
type of cancer.
The extra weight increases your risks, and brings other
problems too. It's harder to spot tumors (or recurrences) early,
and women who are overweight or obese are known to avoid
checkups altogether. Once a cancer has been spotted, the added
weight can cause problems figuring the best chemotherapy dose -
plus the more weight the more medicine that must be used, and
the more intense any side effects will be.
"We know that women who are overweight at the time of breast
cancer diagnosis have a higher risk of recurrence than lean
women, but the reasons for this are not clear," says Dr.
Jennifer A. Ligibel of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
Boston. "Recent evidence suggests that high insulin levels,
which are common in overweight women, may be involved in the
increased risk of breast cancer recurrence."
Debbie Saslow, director of breast and gynecologic cancer at the
American Cancer Society, points out that it's not completely
clear what role obesity plays in breast cancer risk. According
to ACS numbers, about 182,500 women in the U.S. will be
diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during 2008. Right now
there are almost 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the
United States.
In all this doom and gloom, there is some rather encouraging
news. Studies have shown that exercise - 30 to 60 minutes of
moderate-to-high intensity activity each day - cuts breast
cancer risk according to Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition
and physical activity at the American Cancer Society. You don't
have to go from no workout to a full hour of high intensity
activity in one leap - in fact, if you're really out of shape
and very sedentary, talk with your doctor first, before you
start getting more active.
Once you get the okay, adding activities like walking is a
great way to get started. Build your routine, both in time and
intensity slowly, over weeks or months, until you are able to do
the 30 minutes recommended. Not only will you notice that you're
feeling better... stronger and more confident, but you'll be
doing one of the best things you can to lower your risk of
breast cancer and give yourself many healthy, happy years.
About the Author: Next just head on over to the Daily Health
Bulletin for more health tips including information on obesity
disease links and breast cancer. Plus get 5 free revealing
health reports here: http://www.reallyworks.org?source=is
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=329867&ca=Cancer+Survival
By Kirsten Whittaker
In case you needed more of a reason to keep an eye on your
weight, recent research has found that, in general, obesity is
linked to cancer. For obese women, especially those who have
gone through menopause, this means an increased risk of breast
cancer. Though experts can't yet explain to us why the link is
there, they are working hard to figure it all out.
What we do know is that the higher your Body Mass Index (BMI)
the measurement of your weight against your height squared, the
more chance you have of developing cancer. This was confirmed by
an extensive data review of 140 studies by scientists at the
University of Manchester in England earlier this year. Other
work had found the same links between cancers and more body fat,
and in 2007 a report issued by the American Institute of Cancer
Research and the U.K.-based World Cancer Research Fund concluded
that body fat is associated with an increased risk for several
different types of cancer.
If that wasn't enough a recent study at the University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, found more than two-thirds of women
with stage III locally advanced breast cancer were overweight
(32%) or obese (34%). The research also found that a greater
number of obese patients were likely to be diagnosed with
inflammatory breast cancer - a rare and more deadly form of this
type of cancer.
The extra weight increases your risks, and brings other
problems too. It's harder to spot tumors (or recurrences) early,
and women who are overweight or obese are known to avoid
checkups altogether. Once a cancer has been spotted, the added
weight can cause problems figuring the best chemotherapy dose -
plus the more weight the more medicine that must be used, and
the more intense any side effects will be.
"We know that women who are overweight at the time of breast
cancer diagnosis have a higher risk of recurrence than lean
women, but the reasons for this are not clear," says Dr.
Jennifer A. Ligibel of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
Boston. "Recent evidence suggests that high insulin levels,
which are common in overweight women, may be involved in the
increased risk of breast cancer recurrence."
Debbie Saslow, director of breast and gynecologic cancer at the
American Cancer Society, points out that it's not completely
clear what role obesity plays in breast cancer risk. According
to ACS numbers, about 182,500 women in the U.S. will be
diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during 2008. Right now
there are almost 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the
United States.
In all this doom and gloom, there is some rather encouraging
news. Studies have shown that exercise - 30 to 60 minutes of
moderate-to-high intensity activity each day - cuts breast
cancer risk according to Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition
and physical activity at the American Cancer Society. You don't
have to go from no workout to a full hour of high intensity
activity in one leap - in fact, if you're really out of shape
and very sedentary, talk with your doctor first, before you
start getting more active.
Once you get the okay, adding activities like walking is a
great way to get started. Build your routine, both in time and
intensity slowly, over weeks or months, until you are able to do
the 30 minutes recommended. Not only will you notice that you're
feeling better... stronger and more confident, but you'll be
doing one of the best things you can to lower your risk of
breast cancer and give yourself many healthy, happy years.
About the Author: Next just head on over to the Daily Health
Bulletin for more health tips including information on obesity
disease links and breast cancer. Plus get 5 free revealing
health reports here: http://www.reallyworks.org?source=is
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=329867&ca=Cancer+Survival
I have to loose weight to prevent this kind of disease.
Posted by: Medical Treatment | 12/23/2009 at 02:50 PM