CANCER RESEARCH UK

Maintaining a healthy bodyweight can help to keep hormone levels under control. This is especially important in women after the menopause, whose ovaries have stopped making hormones. When this happens, fat cells become the main hormone source. People who are overweight or obese have much higher levels of hormones such as oestrogen, insulin and IGFs. This may explain why they have higher risks of breast, bowel and womb cancers. There is also some evidence that drinking too much alcohol and not getting enough physical activity could increase a woman’s levels of oestrogen. This may be why these things also increase the risk of breast cancer.