Are thin people less likely to get breast cancer?

Being overweight or obese can be a risk factor.

Being overweight or obese has been found to increase breast cancer risk, especially for women after menopause. Before menopause your ovaries produce most of your estrogen, and fat tissue produces a small amount of estrogen. After menopause (when the ovaries stop making estrogen), most of a woman's estrogen comes from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue after menopause can increase your estrogen levels and thereby increase your likelihood of developing breast cancer.

The connection between weight and breast cancer risk is complex, however. For example, the risk appears to be increased for women who gained weight as an adult but may not be increased among those who have been overweight since childhood. Also, excess fat in the waist area may affect risk more than the same amount of fat in the hips and thighs. Researchers believe that fat cells in various parts of the body have subtle differences that may explain this.

The American Cancer Society recommends you maintain a healthy weight throughout your life by balancing your food intake with physical activity and avoiding excessive weight gain.

Being overweight, especially after menopause, is a breast cancer risk factor. A risk factor isn't a cause however.

Although I accept that it is a recognised risk factor, it doesn't tally with my personal experience.

When I was in hospital for breast cancer surgery, I was the only one of the 8 women in for the same reason who wasn't skinny. Not slim - skinny.

And since then I have met dozens of women with breast cancer, and almost all of them were slim.

I guess it's like any risk factor. Starting your periods before the age of 12 is a risk factor for breast cancer, but most women who started their periods before 12 don't get breast cancer, and those who started after the age of 12 can't consider themselves safe from breast cancer.

Cancer is no respecter of persons, fat, skinny, inbetween, or races, age, etc. Just get your annual mammograms and do breast self-exams and see a doctor ASAP if you feel any lumps.

Beast cancer does NOT discriminate!! You can be fat , thin, medium etc. All are at risk. If you are too young for a mammogram, be sure you start getting them when your old enough.

I've actually never seen a fat chick with breast cancer.

Obesity is a higher risk factor. But thin people can get it too.