Body fat levels linked to breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/health/breast-cancer-body-fat-study/index.html

By Naomi Thomas, CNN
Updated 1:50 PM ET, Thu December 6, 2018

Older women with excess body fat, even if they have what's considered a normal body-mass index, could be at greater risk for breast cancer, according to a study published Thursday in the medical journal JAMA Oncology.
"We do find that excess body fat in those who are post-menopausal with a normal body mass index is associated with about a doubling in the risk of estrogen-dependent breast cancer," said Dr. Andrew Dannenberg, one of the study's authors and director of cancer prevention at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.

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The study also found that for invasive breast cancer, which has spread into the surrounding breast tissue, a 5-kilogram increase in whole-body fat mass was related to a 28% risk increase. The same increase in trunk fat was tied to a 46% increase in the risk of invasive breast cancer.
"The main takeaway is that having excess body fat, even when you have a normal body mass index, is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer," Dannenberg said.

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