In the US alone, over 2,000 new male breast cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed each year according to a study published by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization. To make matters worse, other studies say that these numbers are bound to go up in the coming years. The good news, however, is that early detection and effective medication and treatment can significantly increase a patient’s chances of survival and recovery.
Of course, avoiding the condition altogether is even better. Fortunately, research has time and time again shown that simply living a healthy lifestyle is a great way to dramatically reduce a person’s risk for several types of cancer. This is not only because doing so keeps the body functioning optimally, but also because it helps a person manage their weight more effectively.
Weight loss and cancer prevention
But what exactly does weight have to do with preventing the big C? You see, while a person’s BMI isn’t the sole measure of health, keeping it at optimum levels is an effective way to keep certain cancers at bay. This is because according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI),obesity increases a person’s cancer risk. Based on the numbers on the official NCI website, overweight individuals are, for instance, 60% more likely to develop gallbladder cancer than people with a healthier weight. In total, around 28,000 cancer cases for men and 72,000 for women have been linked to obesity by a US study published by the GLOBOCAN project.
Obesity and male breast cancer
While there are currently not enough epidemiological studies to establish a direct link between being overweight and having an increased risk for male breast cancer, experts are not ruling out the possibility that they are related. According to the American Cancer Society, one theory is that this link comes in the form of obese men having higher estrogen levels than their fitter counterparts. This is because fat converts androgen (i.e., male hormones) into estrogen (i.e., female hormones). Long story short, if you want to reduce your risk for male breast cancer, then you better start eating right and moving more.
The bottom line: weight loss is key
If you’ve been waiting for a compelling enough reason to finally start working toward realizing your fitness goals, well, it doesn’t get any more compelling than the fact that doing so significantly reduces your risk for a wide variety of cancers. Besides, at the very least, becoming fitter would not only make you physically stronger, but also better equipped to fight off other serious illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?