Obesity has long been established as a risk factor for cancer, particularly when it’s stored in certain areas of the body.
Now, new research suggests that a larger waist circumference is a bigger risk factor than body mass index (BMI) for obesity-related cancers — but only for men, not for women.
The findings, which were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, will be presented in May at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain.
The study was led by Dr. Ming Sun, Dr. Josef Fritz and Dr. Tanja Stocks from Lund University in Sweden.
The researchers analyzed data from 340,000 Swedish people averaging 51 years of age whose BMI and waist circumference assessments were performed between 1981 and 2019, according to a press release.
They then compared those statistics to cancer diagnoses pulled from the Swedish Cancer Register.
Over a period of 14 years, there were 18,185 diagnoses of obesity-related cancers among the patients in the study.
“Consequently, waist circumference is a more accurate measure of visceral fat in men than in women,” the researchers wrote.
“This may make waist circumference a stronger risk factor of cancer in men, and explain why waist circumference adds risk information beyond that conveyed by BMI in men, but not women.”
Excess body fat is also linked to higher insulin levels in men than in women, the researchers noted, which could be a factor in waist circumference being more strongly linked to men’s cancer risk.
“The divergence in how waist circumference and BMI relate to cancer risk between men and women underscores the complexity of the impact of adiposity (excess body fat) on cancer development,” the researchers wrote.
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, also detailed the different ways in which men and women store fat.
“While women accumulate more subcutaneous fat — on the hips, thighs and buttocks — men pack it around the waist, deep inside the abdomen,” Osborn, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“This is visceral fat, and it’s metabolically toxic. It’s not just sitting there. It’s active, like a gland, secreting inflammatory chemicals (cytokines), raising insulin levels, disrupting hormones and laying the groundwork for cancer cell growth.”
Osborn reiterated that BMI is limited in its ability to accurately measure excess fat.
“First, BMI doesn’t factor in muscle mass, so a short, stocky individual with a low body fat percentage may be categorized as overweight or obese, when in fact quite the opposite is true,” he said.
“Second, BMI doesn’t tell you where the body fat is, and as it turns out, that’s what’s critical — at least in men.”
Minimizing risk
To reduce cancer risk, Osborn recommends that men measure their waistlines to ensure they’re in a healthy range. People can also track their visceral fat score on a medical-grade anthropometry scale, he said.
“Understand that belly fat isn’t just cosmetic — it’s carcinogenic.”
“Anything above 40 inches (102 cm) is a red flag,” he told Fox News Digital.
Strength training three times per week is ideal, the doctor advised, adding, “Resistance training reduces visceral fat and inflammation.”
Proper nutrition is also important, he said. “Eat like your life depends on it — because it does. Stop feeding your cancer risk.”
“Understand that belly fat isn’t just cosmetic — it’s carcinogenic,” Osborn added. “You may not feel it now, but the clock is ticking. Visceral fat is silent, aggressive and deadly — and it’s doing damage even if your BMI is ‘normal.’”
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