A new study now reveals that those with apple-shaped figures are more than 50 per cent at risk to develop lung and bowel tumours.
According to the researchers, this is due to an increase in insulin, which is known to disrupt hormone production, while excess body fat increase chronic inflammation.
The results come after 12 years of research which the results found that women carrying fat around their abdomens were over 50 per cent more likely to develop lung or gastrointestinal cancers.
Speaking about it, study author Line Mærsk Staunstrup from Nordic Bioscience and ProScion in Denmark said that menopause initiates a shift of body fat toward higher level of abdominal adiposity in women, which may mediate obesity-related cancer risk.
According to the author elderly women should be especially aware of their lifestyle when they approach the pre-menopause age.
Commenting on the study, Dr Andrea De Censi, from Galleria Hospital in Genova, Italy added that while obesity has previously been linked to cancer risk, the link to lung cancer is new and intriguing.
