Women Overweight as College Students at Higher Risk of Breast Cancer

College students who are overweight have a higher risk of developing breast and prostate cancer later in life, according to British and Irish researchers.

Researchers developed a study to look at the relation between body mass index (BMI) in young adults and their risk of death from cancer later in life.

A total of 8,335 men and 2,340 women who attended the University of Glasgow between 1948 and 1968 were included in the study.

During a follow up period that averaged 41 years, 339 men and 82 women died of cancer. The results were adjusted for height, number of siblings, pulse rate, year of birth, age, smoking, birth order, number of siblings, and age of first menstruation.

Researchers found increased risks of breast cancer and prostate cancer in the heavier students. The most overweight young adult women were nearly four times more likely to die from breast cancer than lean women. The most overweight men were 50 percent more likely to die from prostate cancer. There was no link found between BMI and colorectal cancer, according to the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

"BMI in adolescence has lasting implications for risk of cancer mortality in later life," concluded the researchers. "Future research will include measures of BMI throughout the lifecourse, to determine the period of greatest risk of obesity, in terms of cancer mortality."

Other sources: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health