Sci. & Tech.
Putting on pounds 'doubles risk of prostate cancer death'

New York (PTI): It's a known fact that obesity is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. But, a new study has found a link between extra pounds and prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death among men.

Researchers in the United States, who carried out the study, have found that obesity may more than double the odds of prostate cancer death among people who are diagnosed with the disease.

"Overall, men who're moderately fat -- with a body mass index (the measure of obesity that takes into account weight and height) of between 25 and 30 -- are 1.5 times more likely to die from their cancer than those with a normal BMI of 25.

"Obese men, those with a BMI higher than 30, were 1.6 times more likely to die from their disease," lead researcher Dr Jason Efstathiou of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston reported in the 'Cancer' medical journal.

In fact, Dr Efstathiou and his fellow researchers came to the conclusion after studying 788 patients with advanced prostate cancer -- the form where the cancer has spread outside the prostate gland.

The team compared the chances of survival of the 788 patients against their body mass index. Within five years of diagnosis, the prostate cancer death rate for men with a normal BMI -- 25 or under -- was found to be less than seven per cent against 13 per cent for men with a BMI over 25.

The researchers took into account other reasons why the cancer is more deadly for fat men, such as their income, social background and general health but reported that "it's unclear whether losing weight after being diagnosed would alter the course of the disease".

Sci. & Tech.

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