Obesity Linked with Worse Breast Cancer Prognosis
Research has shown that, in addition to being at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke, women who are obese are also less likely to survive a breast cancer diagnosis.
Denmark researchers looked at data spanning 30 years to evaluate the effects of obesity on the risk for developing breast cancer and the prognosis for those women who are diagnosed. They categorized women with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 as being at a healthy weight, and women with a BMI of 25 or higher as being either overweight or obese.
The researchers found that overweight women who had a BMI of 25 or greater tended to have more advanced breast cancer at the time of diagnosis than women who were considered to be at a healthy weight. Overweight and obese women in the study were also found to have an increased risk for distant metastasis, meaning they were more likely to develop cancer in other areas of the body. These women were also more likely to die from breast cancer than women who had a BMI below 25.
These findings were presented at the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and affirm the belief among members of the medical community that achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can potentially increase a person’s life span.