Going up a skirt size over a period of 10 years between your mid 20s and mid 50s is linked to a 33 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause, finds a large observational study published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Overall weight gain during adulthood is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer, but a thickening waist seems to be particularly harmful, indicating the importance of staving off a midriff bulge, the research shows.
The researchers base their findings on almost 93,000 women taking part in the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) in England.
The women were all aged over 50, had gone through the menopause, and had no known breast cancer when they entered the study between 2005 and 2010.
At enrolment they provided detailed information on height and weight (BMI); reproductive health; fertility; family history of breast and ovarian cancer; and use of hormonal contraceptives and HRT, all of which influence breast cancer risk.
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