elvira boix photography for Getty Images
elvira boix photography for Getty Images

A new study confirms that obesity raises the risk for breast cancer, especially for postmenopausal women. City of Hope, which supports the efforts of Healthy Hairdresser, reports that the research published this month in JAMA Oncology is based on 67,000 postmenopausal participants in the Women’s Health Initiative. 

 

The risk of invasive breast cancer was greatest for women with a body mass index greater than 35—an example is a 5'6" woman weighing 220 pounds. The researchers found that these women had a 58 percent higher risk of breast cancer than normal-weight women. Reasons cited include the tendency of fat tissue to increase estrogens, secrete inflammatory factors and correlate with insulin resistance. 

 

Previous studies have reached similar conclusions. City of Hope advises focusing on obesity prevention. 

 

 

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