A study from the USA shows further findings in cancer research.
A larger waist size can increase the risk of developing breast cancer.
Obesity can have harmful effects.
One
study
shows that an increased waist circumference
can
increase the
risk of breast cancer
.
Menopausal
women
are
particularly
affected.
Kassel -
Obesity
and too much
belly fat
can have a bad
effect
on
health
and sometimes involve devastating risks.
The more belly fat, the more likely cardiovascular or metabolic diseases can occur.
A new
study
now shows that an increased waist size goes hand in hand with a greater
risk of breast cancer
- regardless of the body mass index (BMI).
Breast cancer
is the most common cancer * in women.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, almost 69,000 women in Germany fell ill with the malignant tumor in the breast in 2016.
In the
study
, scientists from the USA examined how the waist and hip circumference as well as the waist-to-hip ratio, regardless of BMI, affected the risk of developing
breast
cancer.
For this purpose, the status of the menopause was particularly taken into account.
Breast cancer: an increased waist size can increase risk
The
menopause
is when
women
the last time of menstruation.
One year after menopause, the so-called postmenopause begins, i.e. the last phase of
menopause
.
A woman's menopause begins with premenopause.
For the
study
, the scientists used data from the Nurses Health Study - a longitudinal study from the USA that
showed
important findings on nutrition and
cancer risks in women
.
The study appeared in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in December 2020.
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Increased risk of breast cancer: researchers study menopausal women
Taking the BMI into account, the researchers found that neither waist size nor hip size was associated with an increased risk of premenopausal
breast cancer
.
So the risk of developing
cancer
with the onset of menopause
.
This is reported by the German health portal.
With the waist-to-hip ratio, however, the researchers came to a different conclusion.
After adjusting the BMI, a positive correlation with the premenopausal
risk of breast cancer was
found.
A larger
waist circumference
at the onset of
menopause can increase
the risk of breast cancer.
According to
the
study
,
an increased waist size in the last phase of menopause is also associated
with a greater risk of breast cancer.
Central obesity can significantly increase breast cancer risk
Dr.
Kurt Laederach-Hofmann, head of the obesity program at the University of Bern, has a similar opinion.
He is referring to the results of five studies in which the waist-to-hip ratio for
breast cancer was
examined in
722,000
women
going through
menopause.
Especially women who are still at the beginning of their
menopause
have
an increased risk of
breast cancer
due to a central overweight on the
abdomen
.
If the excess weight is distributed over the body, there is no increased risk of developing this
cancer
.
"Menopause is seen as the critical phase of life for the development of overweight and obesity (in addition to early childhood, puberty, pregnancy)", says Laederach-Hofmann.
Breast cancer risk due to increased waist size: Expert advises a healthy lifestyle
According
to the expert, the
change in the
hormonal balance
seems to have various effects on food intake and the effects of physical activity.
The reduced hormone effect increases the risk of weight gain.
Prevention is therefore particularly important.
Accordingly, Laederach-Hofmann recommends a healthy, active lifestyle with regular physical activity.
The diet should be balanced, low in fat and high in fiber.
Menopausal
women
should also make sure that “the daily calorie intake required decreases with each year of age and thus results in weight gain if the eating habits remain the same.” A healthy waist size can therefore
reduce the risk of breast cancer
before and after menopause.
Only recently has there been a breakthrough in cancer research.
Now a drug is delivering promising study results.
It can kill tumor cells.
(Karolin Schäfer)
* hna.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
