Men who are obese are more likely to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer, researchers have said.
Although previous research has found that obese males have a lower overall risk of developing prostate cancer, new research by scientists at Sweden's Umea University suggests that those men who do develop the disease are likely to experience a particularly aggressive form.
Lead researcher Dr Par Stattin, whose team studied 784 men, said that obese men tend to be less likely to develop prostate cancer in the first place, possibly because of low testosterone levels.
"But they may be at higher risk of a more aggressive form of cancer that is less reliant on testosterone," he said.
Obesity is known to be a major risk factor for many forms of cancer and Dr Greg Martin, a spokesman for the World Cancer Research Fund, told the BBC that "it is important to remember that being overweight significantly increases your risk of developing a number of different cancers, and is bad for your overall cancer risk".
Men who are obese are more likely to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer, researchers have said.
