Ovarian Cancer Risk Rises With Weight

Ovarian cancer risk has been linked to increased levels of body fat, according to a recent scientific report.

The report, conducted and published by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Foundation found that the risk of developing ovarian cancer increased by six percent with every five points of exceeding the nominal body-mass index for a healthy woman.

Authors behind the report explained that obesity has already been tied to several other types of cancer, such as postmenopausal breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer, but this is the first evidence that links ovarian cancer to unhealthy weight gain.

The report analyzed the results of 25 population-based studies that investigated links between diet, physical activity, or weight, and the risk of ovarian cancer. According to the study, the standard healthy woman has a 1.4 chance of developing ovarian cancer. The standard healthy BMI in a woman is under 24.9 percent. A person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

Considering these statistics, the researchers pooled data from the multiple studies looking for common trends between specific BMIs and risks of ovarian cancer. They found that risk for ovarian cancer is greatest in obese women, showing a seven percent risk or more compared to the average 1.4 percent risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Interestingly, they also found that height may play a factor in the development of ovarian cancer, as taller women exhibited being at greater risk.

Because the study was no perusing a cause-and-effect, merely finding a correlation, the researcher cannot explain why height and obesity influence the risk of ovarian cancer. Still, it is safe to say that maintaining an average weight certainly wouldn't hurt when trying to stay healthy.

The report was published by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Foundation on March 10.