Expanding waistline for women ‘is a predictor for breast cancer risk’

[dipsydoodle]

Study associates need for one-size bigger skirt every decade over 40 years with 33% rise in post-menopausal cancer risk.

Women who go up a skirt size every 10 years between their mid-20s and mid-60s are at 33% greater risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause, a study of more than 90,000 women finds.

Overall weight gain, usually measured through an increase in BMI (body mass index), was known to be a risk factor but the study, believed to be the first to look at the association between change in skirt size and breast cancer, indicates that a thickening of the waist could be particularly harmful.

The researchers, from the Ddepartment of women’s cancer at UCLUniversity College London, believe the results, which also showed going up two skirt sizes every 10 years over the same period was associated with a 77% greater risk, could be valuable in breast cancer prevention.

Usha Menon, a co-author of the report, said: “Given that obesity is now emerging as a global epidemic, from a public health prospective our findings are significant as they provide women with a simple and easy to understand message. It needs effort to calculate the BMI from height and weight and most of us do not remember what it might have been some years ago. In that respect, … skirt size as a proxy for waist circumference is easily remembered over time.”

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/24/expanding-waistline-women-predictor-breast-cancer-risk-ucl

Does at least refer to an extensive period of time the data used.

[leftyladyfrommo]

1. Everything is a breast cancer risk.

Eating meat, drinking alcohol, gaining weight. You name it.

The medical profession just scares women to death. And the really bad thing is that doctors aren't sure which breast cancers will not grow over time and which ones will. So many women go through absolutely awful procedures that they are finding out are completely unnecessary.

When it comes to medicine these days you just don't know who to believe. So many procedures are done just because they are big money makers.

It's really hard to know what to do.

[SheilaT]

2. Not to minimize the seriousness of breast cancer,

it's not even the leading cause of death for women, but many people think it is because of all the hype around it.

The simple truth is that we all die. If not from one thing, then from another. Yes, we should all do all the right things, like never smoking, not drinking very much, exercising reasonably, not gaining weight. Some people have crappy genetics or bad luck. Me, I refuse to worry about a lot of things.