Male weight loss could slash prostate cancer deaths according to new study

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Obesity is contributing to hundreds of prostate cancer deaths in men, a new study suggests. Researchers claim that over 1,300 UK lives could possibly be saved from prostate cancer every year if the average male was a healthy weight.

Obesity has ties to at least 13 other cancers such as stomach, pancreas, liver, and kidney. But scientists are only just beginning to dissect the link between prostate cancer and weight.

According to Public Health information for Scotland, prostate cancer accounts for 24.1% of all cancers diagnosed in Scottish men.The new study, which is being shown at the European Congress on Obesity in the Netherlands and published in the journal BMC Medicine, saw academics carry out fresh research as well as review previous data on the topic.The UK Biobank study examined data on 218,237 men, with researchers taking each male's measurements for body mass index score (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio.The subjects were monitored for an average of 12 years, with 661 men dying from prostate cancer during the follow-up period.The health data of men who died from prostate cancer was compared to those who did not.Through this, researchers learned that men were 7% more likely to die from the cancer with every five additional points on their BMI score.And for every extra four inches (10cm) on a mans waistline, the risk of dying from prostate cancer rose by 6%.Researchers also analysed previous studies which examined findings on nearly 20,000 men who lost their lives to prostate cancer.These results suggested that for every five additional points on a man’s BMI score, they were 10% more likely to die from prostate cancer, and an additional 4in (10cm) waist size increased the risk by 7%.While the