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By Kate McHugh, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Gaining weight can be bad for your waistline and your heart. Now, new research reveals gaining weight could increase your risk of developing breast cancer, too.
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Obesity is known to be a risk factor for developing breast cancer after menopause. Estrogen may accumulate in fat tissue, potentially initiating or promoting the growth of cancerous cells in the breast. A womans weight after menopause, however, isnt the only time it matters.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., analyzed nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women, comparing their weight at ages 18, 35 and 50. More than 2,100 women in the study developed breast cancer. Using the collected data, researchers revealed gaining weight in the early reproductive years (age 18 to 35), late reproductive years (age 35 to 50), perimenopausal and postmenopausal years (age 50 and up) and throughout adulthood (age 18 and up) were each associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
Women who were not obese or overweight at age 18 but were at ages 35 and 50 had 1.4-times higher risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who maintained a normal weight. Women who lost weight had the same breast cancer risk as those whose weight remained stable.
Our study suggests that maintaining a healthy weight throughout adulthood may aid in breast cancer prevention, but more research is needed before establishing formal recommendations. However, our findings are consistent with current weight recommendations from the World Health Organization, Jiyoung Ahn, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, told Ivanhoe.
Dr. Ahn said the correlation was primarily seen among women who did not take hormone therapy after menopause.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Jiyoung Ahn, Ph.D.; Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007;167:2091-2102
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