Postmenopausal women who are obese are at a higher risk of dying from breast cancer than normal or underweight women, according to researchers at the American Cancer Society.
Approximately 30 percent of breast cancer deaths in women may be linked to their weight, according to the study published in the journal Cancer Causes and Control.
Previous studies have found that overweight and obese women are at a higher risk of death from breast cancer. However, most studies have not been large enough to test the link across a wide range of body mass and postmenopausal breast cancer deaths, wrote the researchers.
Investigators analyzed the relation between body mass index and height and postmenopausal breast cancer deaths in a study of U.S. adults enrolled in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II in 1982.
After 14 years of follow up, 2,852 deaths from breast cancer were seen among 424,168 postmenopausal women who were cancer-free at the start of the study.
Researchers found that death from breast cancer increased with increasing body mass index. Breast cancer deaths among women 5-foot tall to 5-foot-6 also increased with each inch, but did not further increase in women over 5-foot-6.
"Postmenopausal obesity is an important and potentially avoidable predictor of fatal breast cancer in this study," concluded the researchers. "These results underscore the importance of maintaining moderate weight throughout adult life.
