Research
Hormonal
Maintaining a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5-25 kg/m2 and avoiding adult weight gain reduces the risk of developing cancers of the oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), colorectum, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium, and kidney.
Aim to keep your BMI between 18.5 and 25. Avoid gaining significant weight during adulthood. This is a key strategy to reduce the risk of several common cancers, including breast, colorectal, and endometrial cancer.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Overweight/obesity increases the risk for cancers of the oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), colorectum, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium and kidney; body weight should be maintained in the body mass index range of 18.5-25 kg/m2, and weight gain in adulthood avoided.
Why this rating
Based on large prospective studies and systematic reviews, though the paper notes general limitations of observational data.
Source
Diet, nutrition and the prevention of cancer
Timothy J. Key et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2004
DOI 10.1079/phn2003588
narrative_reviewCited 651×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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