| Next time you take another bite when you aren't | | | | cancer by keeping their weight steady. Compared |
| actually hungry, you might want to think about | | | | to women who gained less than five pounds |
| what else you might be opting for, besides an | | | | during adulthood, those who gained more than 45 |
| extra scrumptious morsel -perhaps it could be | | | | pounds had 40 percent higher risk of developing |
| cancer. | | | | breast cancer after menopause. The more weight |
| One of the most important steps you can take | | | | a woman puts on after menopause, the more |
| to lower your risk of cancer is to maintain a | | | | estrogen her body produces- and the higher her |
| healthy weight. Most of us have been hearing | | | | risk of breast cancer. Overweight women are |
| about genetic and environmental pollutants for so | | | | often diagnosed with breast cancer at a later |
| long that we think cancer is beyond our control, | | | | stage, when it is more difficult to treat. |
| but in fact, more than 50 percent of all cancers | | | | Colon Cancer |
| can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle. While | | | | Colon Cancer is one of the most common types |
| most people are aware that a healthy weight can | | | | of cancer, but it is also one of the most |
| reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, | | | | preventable. Among the many ways that men |
| osteoarthritis, gall bladder disease, and sleep | | | | and women can lower their risk of this disease is |
| apnea, few realize that it can also lower the risk | | | | to maintain a healthy weight. Data shows that |
| of some of the most common types of cancer, | | | | obese people are 50 percent more likely than lean |
| including breast, colon, and endometrial cancer. | | | | adults to develop non-cancerous growths in the |
| Are You a Healthy Weight? A healthy weight is | | | | colon that have the potential become cancerous. |
| defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or | | | | So instead of opting for maybe a possible |
| lower. Higher than 30 is the medical definition of | | | | malignancy with those extra helpings, help yourself |
| obesity, which usually marks the threshold | | | | to a mindfulness of determining whether or not |
| researchers define as associated with increased | | | | really are hungry, and congratulate yourself for |
| risks. To find out yours, go to | | | | making a healthy choice. |
| Breast Cancer | | | | (Some excerpts printed with permission from The |
| According to the Harvard Nurse's Health Study, | | | | Nurses Health Study Annual Newsletter |
| women may be able to lower their risk of breast | | | | November 2003, vol. |