HHS HealthBeat (January 04, 2007)

Weight and the prostate

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A look at men with prostate cancer finds a big risk in being obese. Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle say obesity raises the odds of having the most aggressive cancer – most likely to be fatal.

The study found an 80 percent increase in the likelihood of this dangerous form. And some men had even worse risk. Researcher Alan Kristal:

"In the men who carried their obesity in their guts and not their butts, and they have a family member who'd been diagnosed with prostate cancer, their risk of cancer doubles beyond what was caused by obesity alone." (11 seconds)

Kristal says it's another reason not to be obese – to lose weight if you have extra.

The study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January, 08 2007