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On 7 November 2007, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a report (Cancer incidence and mortality in relation to body mass index in the Million Women Study: cohort study) which finds that increasing body mass index is associated with a significant increase in the risk of cancer for 10 out of 17 specific types examined.
The study looked at 45,000 cases of cancer and 17,000 cancer deaths and how often cancers occurred in 1.2m UK women, aged 50 to 64, from the Million Women Study over a seven year period.
Among postmenopausal women in the UK, 5% of all cancers (about 6,000 annually) are attributable to being overweight or obese. For endometrial cancer and adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus, body mass index represents a major modifiable risk factor; about half of all cases in postmenopausal women are attributable to overweight or obesity. Figures indicate that about 23% of all women in England are obese and 34% are overweight.