Apple-shaped women are more at risk of cancer, new research reveals.
Carrying excess abdominal fat makes women more than 50 per cent more likely to develop lung and bowel tumours, a study found.
Having a spare tyre triggers an increase in insulin, which is known to disrupt hormone production, while excess body fat increase chronic inflammation, both of which are linked to cancer, according to experts.
Study author Line Mærsk Staunstrup from Nordic Bioscience and ProScion in Denmark, said: ‘In women, it is known that menopause initiates a shift of body fat toward higher level of abdominal adiposity, which may mediate obesity-related cancer risk.
‘Avoiding central obesity may confer the best protection.’