Women urged to shed flab to cut cancer risk

LONDON: Being fat could become the leading cause of cancer in women in Western countries in the coming years, European researchers said yesterday.

Being overweight or obese accounts for up to 8 percent of cancers in Europe. Experts said that figure is poised to increase substantially as the obesity epidemic continues, and as major causes of cancer, such as smoking and hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women, drop dramatically.

"Obesity is catching up at a rate that makes it possible it could become the biggest attributable cause of cancer in women within the next decade," said Andrew Renehan, a cancer expert at the University of Manchester. Renehan presented his findings to a joint meeting of the European Cancer Organization and the European Society for Medical Oncology in Berlin yesterday.