14 DAY TRIAL // In a new study in the journal Neurology, researchers argue that, according to evidence at hand, it might be that being overweight or plainly obese makes people more vulnerable to a rare type of brain tumor known to experts as meningioma.
The scientists explain that, having looked at the medical records of several thousand people, they found that overweight folks are 21% more likely to be diagnosed with one such brain tumor than individuals whose weight falls within the recommended limits.
Similarly, obese people, i.e. with a BMI of over 30, were found to be 54% more likely to develop a meningioma than individuals of a normal weight, Medical Express informs. Those who exercised regularly were a bit healthier, but still at risk.
This link between being overweight or obese and an increased risk for meningioma might be due to the fact that fat accumulation in the body correlates with an increase in estrogen levels. In turn, estrogen is known to promote the growth of tumors of this kind.
Figures released by the American Academy of Neurology show meningiomas are currently documented at a rate of 5 to 8 cases per 100,000 people per year.
Although rare, these tumors have a high mortality rate. Thus, the 5-year survival rate for meningioma patients currently stands at just 63%, specialists say.
If it is true that being overweight or obese makes people more vulnerable to such abnormal growths in the brain, something as simple as changes in diet might help curb the number of cases reported annually.
“This is an important finding since there are few known risk factors for meningioma and the ones we do know about are not things a person can change,” said researcher Gundula Behrens in an interview.