Being slender ‘cuts cancer risk’
May 27th 2008
A study published today by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has found that having a healthy body weight does not reduce the risk of developing cancer as much as being slender.
Researchers claim that people at the upper end of the healthy body weight range are still 15% more likely to develop some cancers than those at the lower end. The WCRF says that the key to cutting the risk of cancer is to be lean, without being underweight.
Professor Martin Wiseman, the medical and scientific adviser for WCRF said: “The evidence is clear that even within the healthy weight range, being fatter increases risk of several types of cancer. This is why we recommend that people aim to be as close as possible to the lower end of the healthy range. There is convincing evidence that excess body fat is a cause of six different types of cancer, and the fatter you are, the higher your risk. This is a real concern when you consider that as a nation we are becoming increasingly overweight.”
(Telegraph, p8, Kate Devlin, 10 col.”; Mirror, p20, 2 col.”)
Below are related links for this story (they will open in a new window).