Researchers have discovered that overweight and obese women are younger when they develop breast cancer than their healthy
weight counterparts.
The study, conducted by the University of Granada, Spain, on over 500 women with breast cancer, found that age at diagnosis is correlated to nutritional status. The study took into account family history to find that those participants who were obese were diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age and that those with morbid obesity had a much higher likelihood of developing the disease.
The study also found a corresponding link between age at puberty and breast cancer risk. The women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age were also found to have started menstruating before the age of ten. For a helpful overview of risk factors for breast cancer please see this helpful Breast Cancer FAQs by Consultant Breast Surgeon, Simon Marsh.
