Obesity and Cancer in Women

New evidence from the Million Women Study finds increased risk for six cancers not previously associated with high BMI.

Increased body-mass index (BMI) raises the risk for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer, and postmenopausal breast cancer in women. But researchers have not conclusively associated high BMI with the risk for other cancers in women. In this large cohort study, investigators in the U.K. recruited 1.2 million women aged 50 to 64 without cancer (except for nonmelanoma skin cancer) between 1996 and 2001. The team assessed the effect of BMI (adjusted for 10 clinical factors) on the incidence of and mortality risk for 17 of the most common types of cancer.

Mean follow-up was 5.4 years. The researchers confirmed the association between increasing BMI and the cancers previously associated with obesity. They also found s…

Reviewing Author

Beat J. Meyer, MD

Disclosures

Leadership positions in professional societiesBern Heart Foundation (President); International Academy of Medicine, Bern, Switzerland (Director)

Beat J. Meyer, MD

Disclosures

Leadership positions in professional societiesBern Heart Foundation (President); International Academy of Medicine, Bern, Switzerland (Director)

Obesity and Cancer in Women

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Reviewing Author