Obesity is the biggest driving force behind the most common form of breast cancer in older women, say researchers.Let the fat change their lifestyles, not ours by stealing what we earn.
Alcohol and then cigarettes are the next largest culprits, according to Cancer Research UK.
One in eight women in the UK develop breast cancer in their lifetime, data shows, and the majority of these tumours are "hormone sensitive" meaning their growth is fuelled by hormones.
Too much stored fat in the body raises the level of these "sex" hormones.
Studies show that post-menopausal women with high levels of oestrogen and testosterone have between two and three times the risk of breast cancer than women with the lowest levels.
Experts have known for some time that factors that influence hormone levels - like pregnancy, the oral contraceptive pill and the menopause - can change a woman's breast cancer risk.
This latest work, published in the British Journal of Cancer, suggests obesity should go at the top of this list, not least because it is a lifestyle factor that women can have some control over.
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