To Determine the Prevalence of Obesity in Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Breast Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Pakistan alone has the highest rate of Breast Cancer than any other Asian country as approximately 90000 new cases are diagnosed every year out of which 40000 dies. Obesity is also a critical public health problem growing with every passing year in Pakistan and worldwide. Research studies are being conducted worldwide regarding the relation between the two problems. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of obesity in breast cancer patients in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: BMI is used as a screening tool for overweight and obesity. According to World Health Organization, a body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is obese. A retrospective analysis of 262 patients diagnosed with Breast Cancer during 2019 and 2020 was performed. Patients’ hospital records in Oncology were reviewed. The weight in kilograms and height in centimeters of patients were reviewed. Their BMI was calculated and recorded using the SPSS system. Results: The median BMI was 28.25 kg/m2 with an interquartile range of 25.15 - 31.99 kg/m2. Nearly 80% of the study participants had body mass index higher than normal levels (n=203, 77.5%) and out of them approximately half were overweight (n=104, 51.2%) and the remaining were obese (n=99, 48.7%). Conclusion: We conclude from our study that body mass index is positively correlated with breast cancer occurrence and thus the proportion of females having BMI >= 25 was significantly higher among patients.