Men carrying extra weight around their waist are more likely to die from prostate cancer, a new study has found.

More than 1,300 prostate cancer deaths could be prevented in the UK every single year if the average man wasn’t overweight, researchers have claimed.

The link between obesity and some types of cancer – including stomach, liver, pancreas and kidney cancers is already established.

But scientists are only just starting to unpick the association between being overweight and prostate cancer.

Researchers from Oxford University examined data on 218,237 men enrolled in the UK Biobank study.

When the men joined the study, their body mass index score (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were taken and then tracked for an average of 12 years, over which time 661 of the men died from prostate cancer.

Researchers then compared all the data on those who died from prostate cancer with those who did not.

They found that for every five additional points on a man’s BMI score they were 7% more likely to die from prostate cancer.

They also had a 6% higher risk of dying of prostate cancer for every extra 4in on their waistline.

Researchers also analysed previous studies which looked at information on almost 20,000 men who died from the disease.

These studies suggested that every five additional points on a man’s BMI score meant they were 10% more likely to die from prostate cancer, while an extra four inches on their waist put them at a 7% higher risk.

While the reasons for the increased risk are unknown, researchers have said the study still shows men should try to maintain a healthy weight.

‘Knowing more about factors that increase the risk of prostate cancer is key to preventing it,’ said Dr Aurora Perez-Cornago who led the research.

‘Age, family history and black ethnicity are known risk factors but they are not modifiable, and so it is important to discover risk factors that it is possible to change.’

Every year around 11,900 men in the UK die from prostate cancer.

Researchers said that men aged 55 to 64 have an average BMI score of 28.9 – which classes them as overweight.

Based on their findings, they calculated that if men could shave five points off their BMI score an estimated 1,309 fewer prostate cancer deaths would happen every year in Britain.

Waist circumference is used as a measure of obesity as well as a BMI score because it indicates the amount of fat built up around a person’s organs.

Dr Perez-Cornago added: ‘More research is needed to determine if the association is biologically driven or due to delays in detection (of prostate cancer) in men with higher adiposity (body fat).

‘In either case, our latest results provide another reason for men to try to maintain a healthy weight.’

Karis Betts, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: ‘This research looks at the likelihood of dying from prostate cancer for people who are overweight or obese, but further studies to investigate whether obesity increases the risk of developing prostate cancer in the first place are needed.

‘While the jury is out on the relationship between prostate cancer and obesity, it’s still important to keep a healthy weight as obesity causes 13 other types of cancer.

‘By building on these useful findings in future, scientists can start to unpick what the mechanism of prostate cancer and obesity could be, helping them to better understand who is at an increased risk of getting and dying from the disease.’

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