Obesity not only raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes and blood pressure, but also makes the likelihood of developing prostate cancer more likely, say Portuguese researchers.
Abdominal obesity has long been associated with an increase in heart-related conditions and some types of cancers but until now, it has not been possible to establish a relationship between prostate cancer and weight, even if evidence supports the idea that environmental factors, such as western diet and life style, affect the incidence of the disease.
But a new study, published in the December issue of Obesity Research (pp1930-5), shows that visceral fat, or the fat found around organs, is associated with increased danger of prostate cancer.
The finding has major implications given today’s rise in obesity. Almost one third of people living in the European Union are overweight and more than one in ten is now obese, according to European Association for the Study of Obesity.
