The study looked at BMI, waist measurement, and waist-to-hip ratio to find out how good these were at predicting increased risk of obesity-related cancers. Waist measurement can reflect the visceral fat, wrapped around the body organs, which is known to be a risk for cancer. Study finds men with over 40 waist and women with over 35 waists are more at risk of cancer as waist size is as good at predicting cancer risk as BMIAn expanding waistline could be a warning sign that a man or woman is running an increased risk of certain cancers, according to international experts. For bowel cancer, adding around 8cm to the hips was linked to an increased risk of 15%. Freising said: "Our findings show that both BMI and where body fat is carried on the body can be good indicators of obesity-related cancer risk.
Waist size could predict the risk of developing cancer
Waist measurements could be as good as body mass index when calculating a person's cancer risk Getty ImagesThe amount of fat around a person's waist may provide a clue to their likelihood of developing cancer, research suggests. Waist measurements could be as good as body mass index when calculating a person's cancer risk, the study concluded. Adding 11cm to the waistline, equivalent to two dress sizes, increased the risk of developing obesity-related cancer by 13 per cent. Researchers looked at diagnoses of postmenopausal female breast cancer and cancer of the bowel, lower oesophagus, upper stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, womb, ovary and kidney. It is the first to compare adult body measurements and obesity-related cancers in this way.collected by : Lucy William