Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JAMA, Weight Research / 06.12.2018
After Menopause, High Body Fat Associated with Doubled Risk of Estrogen+ Breast Cancer
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Neil M. Iyengar, MD
Breast Medicine Service
Department of Medicine
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Evelyn H. Lauder Breast And Imaging Center
New York, NY
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Obesity is one of the leading modifiable risk factors for the development of hormone receptor positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Traditionally, physicians use a person's body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by height in squared meters, kg/m2) to estimate body fat levels. A BMI of 30 or greater is considered to be obese, and this level of BMI increases the risk of at least 13 different cancers.
However, BMI is a crude measure of body fat and can be inaccurate. For example, some normal weight individuals (BMI less than 25) have obesity-related problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. Before our study, it was unknown whether high body fat levels in normal weight women contributes to obesity-related cancers such as breast cancer.
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