Women approaching menopause should maintain or achieve a healthy body weight to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer, researchers at Harvard Medical School recommend.A. Heather Eliassen and her colleagues found that women who gained weight in adulthood have an increased risk of developing the disease after menopause.

Importantly, their study also showed weight loss may reduce the risk of cancer, even if unwanted pounds are not shed until after menopause.

The study involved more than 49,000 nurses who were followed for up to 24 years, nearly 4,400 of whom developed breast cancer.

Women who gained 25 kilograms (55 pounds) or more since the age of 18 had a 45 per cent increased risk of breast cancer compared with their counterparts who had maintained their weight (apart from fluctuations of up to two kilograms).

Conversely, a weight loss of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) or more since the age of 18 was associated with a 16 per cent reduction in disease risk compared with those who simply maintained their weight.

Among women who gained 10 kilograms or more following menopause, there was an 18 per cent increased risk of breast cancer compared with those who had maintained their weight. By contrast, losing 10 kilograms or more following menopause was associated with a 23 per cent reduction in disease risk.

Overall, Eliassen and her colleagues concluded that 15 per cent and four per cent of the breast cancer cases in their study were attributable to weight gains of about two kilograms or more since the age of 18 and since menopause, respectively.

Link