Obese post-menopausal women prone to breast cancer: studies

Virginie Montet

Obese post-menopausal women are more susceptible to breast cancer, and those who continue to gain weight after 50 are more likely to die from the disease, according to research presented at an obesity conference.

"There is an overwhelming number of studies that show a link between obesity and breast cancer," Cheryl Rock of the University of California, San Diego said at the annual conference of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO).

Marilie Gammon of the University of North Carolina warned that after menopause, obese women have a 75 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer.

She also said that women should be made aware that if they continue to add pounds past the half-century mark, they are raising their chances of death.

"We have to let them know that if you continue to gain weight after the age of 50 and contracted breast cancer, you are more likely to die," Gammon said.

A person is considered obese when his or her body mass index is 30 or above.

The BMI is a measure of body fat calculated by dividing weight by height squared, with a rating between 18.5 and 24.9 considered normal for adults.

Studies show that women who gain nearly 45 pounds (20 kilos) after the age of 18 are twice as likely to develop breast cancer after menopause than those who maintain a stable weight.

For a long time, it was commonly thought that excess weight protected a woman from breast cancer, but recent studies have indicated otherwise.

"A lot of women say, 'Who cares? I'm already overweight.' But it's bad. You are more likely to die if you are diagnosed with breast cancer," Gammon said, citing in particular a study by Page Abrahamson of the University of North Carolina, published this month.

On the bright side, recent studies also have shown that women who engage in some physical activity, even modest, at the first sign of the deadly disease have a better survival rate.

"The message is that you have to maintain some physical activity," Gammon said.

"Breast cancer is a good motivator for women," she said. "They fear it. They know what it's like to fight against it more than colon cancer or renal cell cancer," which is also linked to obesity.

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