If you are fond of wearing high skirts and in case you are overweight then you may be at a greater risk of breast cancer, says the new study and research. All women in their 20s and early 30s who increase their skirt size every year and decade had around 33% greater risk of breast cancer especially after the menopause, say doctors and researchers at the University College London.
Watching your skirt size from your mid-20s onwards could be a simple way to track weight gain, they told BMJ Open. Obesity is a known risk factor for cancer, particularly midriff fat.
These days erratic lifestyle factors are also to be blamed. The study tracked more than 90,000 women in their 50s and 60s living in England.
During the three-year follow-up period, 1,090 women developed breast cancer. The researchers found that a unit increase in UK skirt size every 10 years (for example from 12 to 14) between 25 and post-menopausal age was linked to a 33% increased risk of breast cancer.
Going up two skirt sizes in the same period was associated with a 77% greater risk, they report.
Commenting on the research, Simon Vincent of Breakthrough Breast Cancer said: “We know that 40% of breast cancers could be prevented by changes to lifestyle such as being regularly active and maintaining a healthy weight.
“This study highlights an easy way to monitor your weight gain over time. Women are more likely to remember their skirt size when they were younger than their BMI.”
Limitations
The researchers said the study had some limitations – it relied on women being able to accurately recall their skirt size in their 20s.
But if the findings are confirmed, it could give women a simple and easy-to-understand message about the risks of obesity.
Tom Stansfeld of Cancer Research UK said the study could be unreliable as dress sizes had changed over the years and it relied on a woman being able to remember her skirt size several decades earlier.
“Evidence tells us the most important things you can do to reduce breast cancer risk, especially after the menopause, is to keep a healthy weight, be physically active as often as you can, and cut down on alcohol,” he said.
“Maintaining a well checked weight and a balanced body mass that is constantly monitored is of utmost importance to avoid breast cancer risk especially after the menopause. Therefore all those women who are overweight and are used to wearing skirts upto their stomach should about this study and take precautions accordingly.
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