Women who diet may reduce risk of cancer

POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN who lose weight may have a significantly reduced chance of developing breast cancer, according to research.

Several studies have associated high body mass index (BMI) with increased breast cancer risk, so scientists wanted to see if losing weight reversed it.

Four out of five cases of breast cancer occur after the menopause, according to the charity Breast Cancer Now, which said women could significantly reduce their risk by following a healthy lifestyle.

The American study analysed data from more than 60,000 women and found that over 3,000 developed invasive breast cancer over the following 11-12 years.

Compared with women with stable weight, those who had a five per cent or more decrease in weight were 12 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer.

A weight loss of 15 per cent or more was associated with a 37 per cent reduction. The research, being presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, was led by Professor Rowan Chlebowski, of the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research at City of Hope in Duarte, California.

He said: “In the three-year window of the study, relatively modest weight loss was associated with significant lowering of breast cancer incidence. From this study, we have evidence that a weight-loss strategy can be effective in lowering breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women.”

Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “This important study provides further clear evidence that postmenopausal women can significantly reduce their risk of breast cancer by taking steps to lose weight.”