Bigger Waistlines Push Men Closer To Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease that most men want to avoid and a new study could help point them in the right direction. Ironically, it involves retaining the proper waistline – better yet the proper body weight to lower the chances of the disease from occurring.

Obesity is another problem that most people have to deal with though there are ways to fight it off. Diets and exercise are among the leading things one can resort to along with the proper will power.

So what has bulging waistlines have to do with prostate cancer?

Researchers from the University of Oxford were able to link additional inches on a man’s waistline could lead to additional chances of developing prostate cancer.

As an illustration, the researchers claim that a 37-inch waist meant an 18% higher risk of fatal prostate cancer compared to a 33-inch waist. Additionally, an additional four-inches increased the risk by 36% compared to the same waistline.

With the figures and findings, such could provide doctors with an additional way of helping male patients avoid the eventual risk of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer normally occurs in the middle ages and not the early stages of a man’s life.

University of Oxford scientists examined more than 140,000 men across eight countries with a mean age of 52. After 14 years, it was found that 7,000 incidents of prostate cancer had occurred where 934 of the cases were categorized fatal. The study was funded by the Cancer Research UK.

“The findings from this large prospective study show that the association between body size and prostate cancer is complex and varies by disease aggressiveness; men who have greater adiposity have an elevated risk of high-grade prostate cancer and prostate cancer death. Our results are in line with health advice for other non-communicable diseases. Men should try to maintain a healthy weight.”

With these facts and numbers in focus, Dr. Aurora Perez-Cornago from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford believes that the findings could be attributed to cancer-causing hormones though further evidence would be needed to prove that claim.

"This research adds to a growing body of evidence that shows that weight and waist size could be another crucial risk factor for men to be aware of when it comes to protecting themselves against prostate cancer," said a spokesman from the Prostate Cancer UK.