College Obesity Linked To Cancer

Obese college-aged women are twice as likely to develop premenopausal ovarian cancer, according to a study by Harvard Medical School researchers released this month.

However, the study also found that weight gain after the college years does not contribute to an increased risk in ovarian cancer.

Kathleen M. Fairfield, one of the researchers, said that the findings can be tied to the level of a male hormone in obese women.

“Women who are obese when younger produce higher levels of androgens,” she said.

Fairfield and other researchers analyzed data compiled by the Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed and recorded data on more than 100,000 women since 1976.

Fairfield said she suspected obesity was linked to ovarian cancer in premenopausal women.

“We know that obesity increases other malignancies,” she said, citing colon cancer as an example.

Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in women, according to Fairfield.

Fairfield said the study challenges current perceptions about health among younger people.

“When I was in college we thought we could get away with anything,” she said. Fairfield added that college students make a mistake when they think that cancer is something to be worried about years down the road.

Ana E. Marengo, a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, said that the study confirms the already established link between cancer and obesity.

Marengo said that the American Cancer Society advocates maintaining a healthy weight as a way to help avoid cancer.

Fairfield cautioned that the findings were preliminary, but that they held an important warning for college women.

“It really matters what you’re doing now,” she said.