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Some Ovarian Cancer Associated With Obesity

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Ovarian cancer is a very difficult disease to treat because by the time we detect it in patients, it is often very advanced. Now there is new research that suggests for the first time that some cases are associated with obesity.

Researchers found that 1 in 5 cases of ovarian cancer can be prevented by appropriate weight loss. They found that for every five-point increase in bmi, a woman's risk of the deadly disease increased by 6 percent.

So what does all of this mean to the average person?

In my opinion this is not the first or the last situation where we will see that increased weight is associated with a negative health effect - whether it is cancer, heart disease or diabetes, they are all linked to poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity. The bottom line is that we can control only certain factors and one of them, a very important factor, is lifestyle.

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