Estimate of breast cancer risk reduction with weight loss

Article Abstract:

There is some controversy about whether obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer. At least some of the lack of agreement between different research groups might come from the fact that the risks of breast cancer do not seem to be uniform across different profiles of obesity. In particular, an upper-body distribution of body fat (a distribution referred to as android) seems to increase the risk of breast cancer in comparison to a lower-body distribution of fat (the gynoid distribution). Considered overall, obesity itself is at best a weak risk factor for breast cancer. Women with upper body fat tend to have larger fat cells, and women with lower body fat tend to have more fat cells. In general, it is easier to lose weight if you have fewer fat cells; with many more fat cells, even a tiny increase in fat in each cell results in significant weight gain. While it is therefore easier for a woman with upper body fat to lose weight, it is uncertain to what degree this might decrease her risk of breast cancer. While the final determination must, of course, come from experimental evidence, researchers investigating breast cancer risk factors have developed a mathematical model to help them estimate the reduction in risk which might reasonably be attained by losing weight. Using data obtained from 124 overweight women enrolled in a weight-reduction program, the researchers determined the changes in distribution of body fat which result from a loss of fat; 64 percent of the women who lost at least 10 pounds lost upper body fat. These changes in distribution were compared with the distribution of body fat which has been previously found to correlate with an increased risk of breast cancer. Using a mathematical formula arrived at from these data, the authors determined that a loss of weight of more than 10 pounds resulted in an average reduction of breast cancer risk of about 45 percent, which was attributed to a reduction in upper body fat. Greater weight loss would result in a correspondingly greater decrease in breast cancer risk. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Complications and side effects, Breast cancer, Weight loss

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Upper-body fat distribution and endometrial cancer risk

Article Abstract:

Obesity in women is associated with an increased risk for endometrial cancer. These women also often suffer from hormonal imbalances. The types of hormonal abnormalities that occur in obese women are related to the type of obesity, which is based upon how the excess body fat is distributed. Low levels of sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) have been associated with endometrial cancer. This substance is also associated with android obesity, namely obesity where the excess fat is mainly distributed in the upper body. A study was conducted to determine whether android obesity in women was associated with endometrial cancer. Body fat measurements were taken from 40 women with endometrial cancer and 40 healthy women matched to the cancer patients for control purposes. The measurements were taken at various sites on the body, and certain ratios were calculated to indicate the proportion of fat in the upper body. The women with cancer were found to have significantly greater distribution of fat in the upper body than the control subjects. The waist-to-hip circumference ratio was 0.86 for the cancer patients and 0.79 for the controls, while the abdomen-to-thigh skin fold ratio was 1.44 and 1.09, respectively. The suprailiac-to-thigh skin fold ratio was 0.97 and 0.69, respectively. These ratios were all significantly higher for the cancer patient group than the control group. The relative risk for endometrial cancer increased with an increase in any of these three ratios. These results suggest that obese women with android fat distribution have an increased risk for endometrial cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Cancer, Endometrial cancer, Cancer endocrinology

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