Study abdominal fat increases the risk of cancer in older women

Does it affect the risk of cancer when women have a lot of belly fat?
Too high a body weight can have a negative impact on our health and the development of cancer. Researchers have now found that it is more important for the cancer risk of postmenopausal women where body fat has accumulated compared to the effects of a generally elevated body weight.

The scientists from Nordic Bioscience found in their study that body fat distribution has more influence on the cancer risk of postmenopausal women than body weight. The doctors published a press release on the results of their study, which were presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid.

If women accumulate extra fat on their stomach, this can increase the risk of developing some types of cancer. (Image: SENTELLO / fotolia.com)

The distribution of fat matter plays an important role in the development of cancer
The finding should have a major impact on the weight management of postmenopausal women who are prone to gaining weight on the abdomen, explains author Mærsk Staunstrup from Nordic Bioscience. In assessing cancer risk, measurements of body mass index (BMI) and percentage of fat in the body may not be the appropriate measures because they do not take into account the distribution of fat mass.

Physicians are studying 5,855 women for their study
The current study included a total of 5,855 women, who had an average age of 71 years. The experts used a method called Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) to assess participants' body fat and body fat composition. The women continued to be medically monitored for a period of 12 years. Using information from national cancer registries, the experts noted that the ratio of abdominal fat to peripheral fat is a significant independent predictor of cancer diagnosis. Neither the BMI nor the fat content was of great importance here, add the scientists.

Which types of cancer were particularly common during the study?
There were 811 cases of cancer in female subjects. There were 293 cases of breast and ovarian cancer, 345 cases of lung cancer and gastrointestinal cancer and 173 other cancers. The physicians also found that only lung and gastrointestinal cancers were associated with high abdominal and peripheral fat ratios.

Which factors increase the risk of cancer?
Additional risk factors for cancer included upper age, hormone replacement therapy and smoking. But even after taking into account these risk factors, the fat ratio remained an independent risk factor. For most older women, this information could be very important because menopause induces a shift in body fat towards the central area, the researchers report. Therefore, older women should pay particular attention to their lifestyle as they approach pre-menopausal age, author Mærsk Staunstrup further explains.

Many hospitals have DXA scanners
Physicians can also use the information for a preventive conversation with women who are at increased risk for cancer. Most hospitals have portable DXA scanners that allow for regional bone and fat scans.

What effect does insulin have on cancer risk??
While obesity has previously been associated with increased cancer risk, the link to lung cancer is new and surprising, say the scientists. An increase in insulin, which results from the consumption of simple carbohydrates such as potatoes, wheat, rice and corn, leading to fat accumulation, which is specifically visceral and abdominal, explain the experts on. In addition, insulin has adverse effects on hormone production and the cells in adipose tissue cause chronic inflammation throughout the body, which is another risk factor for several cancers.

The data from the new study gives physicians the opportunity to develop a range of interventions in overweight patients. In addition to fat loss through diet and exercise, diabetes medications (such as metformin) could reduce insulin effects and help prevent cancer. (As)