Lose the Weight: Obesity Affects Prostate Cancer Risk

A long-term study of almost 70,000 men by the American Cancer Society has found that losing excess weight will decrease a man's risk of prostate cancer.

Other studies have already been published have shown that men with a high body mass index (BMI) are more likely to more likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, and to have the prostate cancer recur after having it treated.

Facts:
Over 234,0000 men were expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and over 27,000 men were to die of it in 2006 (the 2007 estimates have not been released).

The study was part of a lifestyle study called the Cancer Prevention Study II that was started back in 1982. This study routinely questioned the men about their smoking, diet and exercise habits while calculating their BMI, and documented any incidence of cancer. The data was correlated with the reports of prostate cancer in the men from 1992 to 2003 to find a positive correlation between BMI and different stages of prostate cancer.

Summary:
This study positively confirms that losing excess weight reduces a man's chance of developing prostate cancer. If you are overweight, try to lose the pounds, if you are not overweight, keep the pounds off.