Obese Women More Likely to Get Colorectal Cancer
TUESDAY, Nov. 2
Obese women face a greater risk of colorectal cancer than obese men, says a Stony Brook University study presented Nov. 1 at the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. The study of 1,050 women and 1,250 men found that women with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more (considered obese) were 5.2 times more likely to have significant colorectal neoplasia than women with a BMI of 25 or less (healthy weight). Neoplasia is the process that results in tumor formation and growth. A high BMI in men was not shown to be associated with a higher risk of significant colorectal neoplasia. Colonoscopy was used to screen the study participants. “We use body mass index as a surrogate measure for body fat. It may be that for men and women with similar BMI, women have less muscle than men. This need to be explored further,” study co-author Dr. Joseph C. Anderson said in a prepared statement. He said the findings are important for doctors counseling overweight and obese women about colorectal cancer screening