Obese People More Likely to Get Brain Tumor

Being obese and overweight does not only affect the cardiovascular health, but the brain as well.

This is the conclusion reached by Gundula Behrens, PhD, from the University of Regensburg in Germany, who found out that obese and overweight people are prone to the development of specific brain tumor, Medical News Today (MNT) reported.

The study, published at the journal "Neurology," revealed that overweight people with Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 has a 21 percent higher risk to develop a meningioma while obese individuals with a BMI of 30 or over has a staggering 54 percent higher risk of having meningioma, as compared to those who have a normal body weight that is a BMI of 24.9 below.

Nonetheless, the research also highlighted that having a high level of exercise and other physical activities were associated to a 27 percent less risk of developing the mentioned brain tumor. However, the risk varies depending on the level of physical activity.

To reach this conclusion, Behrens conducted a meta-analysis of 18 studies, looking and analyzing all data pertaining to BMI as well as physical activity. Behrens specifically focused on meningioma and glioma, evaluating a total of 2,982 meningioma cases and 3,057 glioma cases.

Behrens discovered that there is no association between being overweight and obese to developing glioma. However, she pointed that there are several "biological processes" that would associate excess weight to meningioma.

Such biological processes include the fact that excess weight gives a boost in the production of estrogen which is known to be part of meningioma development. Higher levels of insulin associated with being obese and overweight are also a defining factor for the development of the said brain tumor.

"Given the high prevalence of obesity and the unfavorable prognosis for this type of tumor, these findings may be relevant for strategies aimed at reducing the risk of meningioma," Behrens said via MNT.

According to Mayo Clinic, a meningioma is a "tumor that grows from the meninges, the membranes that surround your brain and spinal cord." The description made by the site also emphasized that most cases of meningiomas are noncancerous or benign, but there are instances that it can be cancerous or malignant.

MNT pointed that meningioma is linked for about 30 percent of brain tumor cases. It also cited that 85 percent of such cases tend to grow and develop slowly but can be deadly when it starts to "interfere with the functioning of the brain."

Meanwhile, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons remarked that meningiomas frequently occur in people aged 30 to 70 years old. It highlights that women are twice likely to develop the brain tumor than men. However, although malignant meningioma cases are three times likely to men, women are 10 times more often to develop spinal meningiomas.