Women who go up one dress size every ten years are a third more likely to develop breast cancer, British research shows.
Experts say there is a strong link between the amount of fat stored around the waist and the risk of tumors developing.
The study by University College London academics also found that women who go up two dress sizes in a decade are 77 per cent more likely to develop the disease.
For some time researchers have known that being overweight increases the risk of breast cancer. They say that fat tissue releases the hormone estrogen, which triggers the development of tumors.
Now this latest study has shown that gaining weight around the stomach appeared to be particularly harmful.
The UCL researchers think that this type of fat produces more estrogen than that stored elsewhere on the body.
Simple Message
After further checks, their findings could present ‘a clear and simple message’ for women that even gaining a modest amount of weight, greatly increases the risk of cancer.
Around one in eight women will develop breast cancer and there are 50,500 new cases in the UK every year.
The study, published in journal BMJ Open, looked at the records of 93,000 women in their 50s and 60s, who had all been through menopause.
