Research
Hormonal
Abdominal obesity, measured by waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio, is a stronger and more consistent predictor of colon cancer risk across genders than total body mass index (BMI).
If you are concerned about colon cancer risk, do not rely on BMI alone, especially if you are a woman. Measure your waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio. Abdominal fat is a stronger predictor of risk than total body weight. Reducing abdominal fat through lifestyle changes may mitigate this risk.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
abdominal obesity (as defined by waist circumference or waist : hip ratio) is an equally-strong risk factor for colon cancer in men and women, whereas body weight and BMI are associated with colon cancer risk in men but not in women
Why this rating
Based on large prospective cohort studies (EPIC) and systematic reviews, though exact mechanisms are described as 'unclear'.
Source
Obesity and cancer
Tobias Pischon et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2008
DOI 10.1017/s0029665108006976
narrative_reviewCited 322×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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