Overweight women are at risk of developing cancer.

Colonial War Memorial Hospital General Surgeon, Dr Ilaitia Delasau, says in many cases they have had to stress the importance of losing weight to women seeking treatment.

Dr Delasau says the lack of physical activity and high intake of processed foods contribute enormously to the development of cancer cells.

“ There’s a lot of extra fat on your body, which increases your risk of developing breast cancer, risk of uterine, cervical, or ovarian cancer, just by being obese or fat. One of the biggest reasons why more women are developing these sort of diseases is because of the change in the body habitus and the food that we eat.”

The General Surgeon says this can also cause non-cancerous diseases.

“Infections of their ovaries and tubes, they are called pelvic inflammatory diseases. These are non-cancerous but they cause pain. So when you develop pain in the lower part of your tummy with abnormal discharge from your vagina – that’s more likely to be an infection rather than a cancer.”

Dr Delasau is urging women to closely monitor their diet and have regular checkups to keep track of their reproductive health status.