There’s an Easy Way to Calculate Your Cancer Risk

By Linda Rodgers Updated: March 28, 2017

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cancer

While it’s difficult to figure out just what triggers many cases of cancer, doctors know that certain health habits can increase your chances of getting the disease. Smoking is a big one, but so is this other lesser-known risk factor: belly fat.

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The flab around our bellies is already a culprit in heart disease and diabetes. But a new study published in the British Medical Journal today also found that having more fat around our waistlines could increase the chances of getting pancreatic cancer and, especially, uterine cancer.

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To calculate your risk, you need a tape measurement and a calculator. Now measure your waist and your hips. Divide the waist size by the hip measurement and you get your waist-to-hip ratio. (So, for example, if your waist is 34 inches and your hips are 41 inches, you divide 34 by 41 to get 0.83.)

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The higher the ratio, the higher the risk. And for every point your ratio goes up–say, from 0.8 to 0.9–your chances for developing uterine cancer goes up by 21 percent. The bottom line, say researchers: Treat body fat like any other type of risk factor and try to maintain a healthy weight.

via DailyMail.co.uk

NEXT: Click through the photos of celebrities who survived different types of cancer, including uterine cancer.

Edie Falco

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Edie Falco: Breast cancer, 2004 Falco kept her treatment a secret from her Sopranos co-stars. “Surviving cancer has a way of making you re-prioritize," she's said. In her case, it meant starting a family.
Kathy Bates

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Kathy Bates: Ovarian cancer, 2003; breast cancer, 2012 The actress kept her cancer a secret but after her double mastectomy, she told People magazine: "Breast cancer runs like a river through my family.
Fran Drescher

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Fran Drescher: Uterine cancer, 2000 It took two years and eight doctors before the Nanny star was finally diagnosed. After the experience, she wrote a book and started a cancer foundation.
Rod Stewart

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Rod Stewart: Thyroid cancer, 2000 The rock icon got lucky when his cancer was discovered during a routine scan. He lost his voice for three weeks, and now sings an octave lower than he used to.
Carly Simon

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Carly Simon: Breast cancer, 1997 After a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, the singer told the New York Daily News she was "stronger than ever. I've always thought of myself as a warrior."
Sheryl Crow

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Sheryl Crow: Breast cancer, 2006 The singer, then 44, had just broken up with Lance Armstrong when doctors discovered a tumor. After treatment, she adopted two boys.
Sharon Osbourne

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Sharon Osbourne: Colon cancer, 2002 The reality TV star had one foot of her colon removed. After discovering she carried the gene for breast cancer, she had a double mastectomy.
Hugh Jackman

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Hugh Jackman: Skin cancer, 2013, 2016 Jackman was filming X Men when a makeup artist pointed to a red mark on his nose. It turned out to be basal cell carcinoma. He now gets skin checks every three months.
Robert De Niro

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Robert De Niro: Prostate cancer, 2003 De Niro, then 60, credited his complete recovery to early detection.
Christina Applegate

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Christina Applegate: Breast cancer, 2008 The actress was only 36, but she had the BRCA gene mutation--her mom was a breast cancer survivor. She opted for a double mastectomy.
Michael C Hall

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Michael C. Hall: Hodgkin's lymphoma, 2010 Hall used a break during Dexter to go through treatment. Getting a Golden Globe two-thirds through it gave him a "shock of positive energy."