As Weight Goes Up, So Does Breast Cancer Risk
All ages can be affected, though shedding pounds helps

(HealthDay News) -- Women who gain weight face a growing risk of an assortment of health problems, and breast cancer appears to be among them.

When the weight is gained doesn't seem to matter, researchers have found. Any woman older than 18 who gains weight has a higher risk of breast cancer than does a woman whose weight doesn't increase.

But losing the weight also lowers the cancer risk, the researchers reported.

"We found that weight gain throughout adulthood as well as weight gain at specific stages of life were associated with risk of breast cancer, compared with maintaining a stable weight," said study lead author Jiyoung Ahn of the National Cancer Institute. "Specific stages include during early reproductive years, late reproductive years and perimenopausal and postmenopausal years."

Although obesity was known to be a risk factor for breast cancer after menopause, experts were unsure whether the timing of weight gain might affect risk.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data on nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women who were participating in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. At the start of the study, the women reported their weight and body measurements at ages 18, 35 and 50, and were then classified, based on their body mass index, as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.

Among women who did not take menopausal hormone therapy, gaining weight in the early reproductive years (ages 18 to 35), the late reproductive years (ages 35 to 50), perimenopausal and postmenopausal years (age 50 on) and throughout adulthood (age 18 on) was associated with a heightened risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who maintained a stable weight.

Women who were at or below a normal weight at age 18 but were overweight or obese at ages 35 and 50 had 1.4 times the risk of developing breast cancer, compared with women who had maintained a normal weight. Women who subsequently lost weight had the same cancer risk as those who maintained a stable weight.

Breast cancer strikes one of every eight women in the United States -- about 12 percent. To detect breast cancer early, when it can be most effectively treated, experts strongly urge women to use self-exams and mammograms.

Self-exams should be done every month a few days after a woman's menstrual period, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Besides a lump or swelling, other changes in the breast might be skin irritation or dimpling, nipple pain or retraction (turning inward), redness or scaliness of the nipple or breast skin, or a discharge other than breast milk.

A woman who notices any such changes should see her health care provider right away.

A mammogram uses a low-dose X-ray machine to take pictures of both breasts. The results are recorded on X-ray film or directly onto a computer. Mammograms allow a doctor to have a closer look to determine if there are lumps or changes in breast tissue.

Screening mammograms are done for women who have no symptoms of breast cancer. After age 40, it's recommended that women have a mammogram every one to two years.

On the Web

To learn more about breast cancer, visit the National Cancer Institute.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Jiyoung Ahn, Ph.D., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.; Oct. 22, 2007, Archives of Internal Medicine ; National Women's Health Information Center (www.womenshealth.gov)
Author: Anne Thompson
Publication Date: Oct. 31, 2008
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