By Deborah Condon

Obese women are twice as likely to develop bowel cancer, new research indicates. However the findings only apply to women who have not yet reached the menopause.

Bowel cancer is currently the biggest cancer killer in Ireland, after lung cancer. The disease kills over 900 people here every year and around 30 cases are diagnosed every week.

While the link between bowel cancer and obesity has been known for some time, the specific effects on women were not clear until now.

The study of over 90,000 women found that those who were clinically obese and had not yet reached the menopause, were twice as likely to develop the disease, compared to women of normal weight.

The American researchers suggest that the excess fat carried by obese people is a source of increased insulin, which has been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer.

After the menopause however, body fat is an important source of oestrogen, which may protect against the disease, they added.

The current rate of obesity among women is 16%, up from 13% a decade ago, according to the Food Safety Promotion Board. However the greatest prevalence of obesity in any group is in women over the age of 50, where it is at almost 30%.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a means of assessing whether your weight may be posing a risk to your health. To calculate your BMI, click on…

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