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Weight Gain: the Breast Cancer Link |
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The American Cancer Society is now saying that the amount of weight a women gains after the age of 18 can be a strong indicator of the likelihood of getting breast cancer later in life. In fact they go as far as to say that one-third to one-half of the deaths from breast cancer can be attributed to weight.
Experts attribute this increased risk to the fact that fat tissue makes estrogen. Estrogen is a female hormone that can contribute to breast cancer cell growth. For this reason, the American Cancer Society says that even small amounts of weight gain can increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society has based these statements on the results of several studies. The results of one study indicated that women who gained 20 to 30 pounds after high school graduation were 40 percent more likely to get breast cancer than those women who gained less weight. A weight gain of 70 pounds or more doubled the risk of breast cancer in these women.
In these studies, women who stayed lean and did not take hormone replacement therapy had the lowest risk of breast cancer, probably due to the fact that their bodies were not producing very much estrogen. The moral of the story is that maintaining a healthy weight may lower a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
Author: Christi Larson, Pharm. D.
Dr. Larson is a pharmacist, author of Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers and creator of Empowered Medicine. You can read more about her by visiting www.EmpoweredMedicine.com and clicking on the 'About Us' tab. EmpoweredMedicine.com is committed to providing evidence-based medical information from a pharmacist's point of view.
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