Doctors have long warned of the health dangers of obesity, but a preliminary study shows obesity might help men survive prostate cancer.
Researchers in Italy found when prostate cancer spread throughout the body, those who were obese were less likely to die over the next few years.
Jennifer Linehan, a urologic oncologist at Providence Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, gave one idea as to why this happened.
“Patients that had a higher BMI or who were obese had more resilience as far as tolerating the cancer treatments because they were heavier,” Linehan told KNX.
“They didn’t have critical weight loss or anemia or other things caused by some of the treatments that we give with patients with advanced prostate cancer.”
In spite of the finding, researchers stress they do not recommend men gain weight to protect themselves against prostate cancer.