UK study finds weight gain may reduce risk of breast cancer before menopause
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women – according to the World Health Organization – and also accounts for the highest number of cancer-related deaths. But new research led by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, suggests that weight gain may have a protective effect against breast cancer– it has found that women who gained weight during select adult ages are at a decreased risk of breast cancer before menopause.
The new study builds on previous research which found that women who weighed more as young adults had a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer, and looked at data from more than 600,000 women,worldwide. It divided these women into six age groups, gathered information on their weight at a minimum of two different ages, and followed them for an average of 10.1 years.
The researchers found that gaining 10 kilograms or more of weight from early adulthood resulted in a lower risk of developing breast cancer before menopause – weight gain between the age ranges of 18–24 years and 45–54 years reduced the risk of breast cancer by 4% for every 5 kg, while gaining weight after the age of 35–44 years had no effect on the chances of a woman developing breast cancer before menopause.
This finding also suggests that cumulative exposure to excess weight is the key factor associated with breast cancer risk; more research is necessary, however.
Dr. Minouk Schoemaker, a senior staff scientist in cancer epidemiology at the ICR, chiefly thinks women shouldn’t consider gaining weight as a way to prevent breast cancer, but said that “understanding the biological reasons behind the link between weight and breast cancer risk could, in future, lead to new ways to prevent the disease.”
