Breast Cancer Risk Linked to Waist Size Changes
A new study found that a woman's waist size may be tied to her chances of developing breast cancer after menopause.

Host: A surprising new study that concludes that women’s development of breast cancer after menopause may be tied to the changes of waist size. As a gymnast here, please explain.
Guest: Well, this is the actual study, you guys, very dense statistics. Epidemiology in there. But basically, this really looks at the issues: weight, weight gain, body mass index and that central adiposity is we refer to as, which is the fact of our main section, and how they are all associated with our breast cancer. And the bad news, which was actually kind of surprising, is that for each size’s increase, so you go from size 10 to size 12, in a woman’s skirt or pants’ size, in her 20s, 30s or 40s, her risk of post menopause breast cancer goes up by 33 percent.
Host: But is it natural for your waist to get bigger over time?
Guest: Well, I am second minded. I mean, It is, and of course we see it over time, but this is really what is interesting about it, is thought to be used as a proxy or an easy-to-understand way that we can kind of track what our risk factor for breast cancer may be.
Another guest: So what is the thinking behind this possible connection?
Guest: The theory, because again it didn’t show cause and effect, is that weight, the fat, that concentrated in our middle section, sometimes we refer to it as waist fat, is more dangerous and hormonally active and actually produce estrogen and trigger our breast cancer . So… watch your weight, watch your alcohol, exercise more and if your waist size is increasing, possibly you need different types of slimming. But we are not very young. Er, suck it up. Suck it up.
Host: Dr. Ashton take your question in this morning and tweet her at doctor J. Ashton.