October is Breast Cancer Awareness so we thought we would share some information about weight and how it relates to breast cancer.
- Weight gain from early childhood into your 60's has consistently been suspected as a risk factor after menopause.
- The fat tissue becomes a major source of estrogen in post menopausal women. This estrogen causes certain types of tumors in the breast to grow.
- Obese women have more fat tissue, making more estrogen compared to thin women.
- In pre-menopausal women most of the estrogen in the body is produced in the ovaries...weight has little effect on this estrogen; post-menopausal, the source of estrogen is fat which contains an enzyme that makes estrogen.
- Weight-loss directly lowers hormones linked to breast cancer.
- Post-menopausal women who reduce their weight moderately through diet and exercise can lower the amount of these hormones circulating in their bodies, decreasing the risk.
- Women who are heavier post-menopausal, have a 20-60% higher risk. Losing just 10% of their weight can have major health benefits.
- Dr. Walter Willet (epidemiologist) from Harvard, states women who lose a moderate amount of weight have a 60%lower risk of breast cancer.
Photo Credit: pinterest.com
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