Body roundness linked to higher cancer risk after menopause
An observational study followed 144,865 women past menopause for a median of 17.9 years, linking a higher waist-and-height measure to several cancers.
Limit: Links with endometrial, breast, and kidney cancers weakened after accounting for body mass index
An observational study followed 144,865 women aged 50–79 who were past menopause and enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative. Researchers assessed body roundness index, a measure based on waist size and height, at enrollment and again three years later in 60% of participants. The analysis included 33,892 new cancers over a median follow-up of 17.9 years.
Higher body roundness was associated with higher risks of several cancers, including kidney, liver, breast and lung cancers. Analyses accounted for sociodemographic, reproductive and lifestyle factors. Further adjustment for body mass index, a measure of weight relative to height, weakened the links for cancers of the uterine lining, breast and kidney. It strengthened the links for liver, lung and esophageal cancers. The esophagus is the tube carrying food to the stomach.
Why it matters
For women past menopause, the researchers suggested that body roundness may improve estimates of risk for specific cancers by capturing abdominal fat beyond overall body size.
Caveats
This observational study could not establish that higher body roundness caused cancer. The findings concern women who were past menopause and aged 50–79 at enrollment, not men or younger women before menopause.
The paper
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Oct 19, 2026
