FAT DISTRIBUTION: Thighs and belly fat heighten risk of prostate cancer
June 21, 2019 • 1 min read
Plenty of studies associate fat with cancer. However, fellas, if those jeans don’t make your ass look fat, you might at least improve your odds of avoiding aggressive prostate cancer.
A new study published in Cancer, an online journal of the American Cancer Society, raises the possibility that the specific distribution of fat is an important factor in developing prostate cancer.
Location, location
Men with visceral fat (deep in the abdomen, surrounding the organs), along with subcutaneous fat (just under the skin) in the thighs, have a greater risk of developing advanced and fatal prostate cancer, the study found.
When researchers looked separately at men with a high BMI (body mass index) versus a low BMI they found the association between visceral fat and advanced and fatal prostate cancer was stronger among men with a lower BMI.
The findings suggest that the location of fat plays a bigger role in prostate cancer risk than the amount of fat overall. In the wake of the research, scientists said patterns of fat distribution associated with the high-risk prostate cancer may help uncover mechanisms linking obesity with aggressive disease, informing intervention strategies. Let’s see.
Until then, lose some weight.