Excess weight may not raise a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer, but it may make him more likely to die of the disease, researchers reported. In a study of nearly 288,000 US men, researchers found that obese men were actually less likely than their thinner counterparts to develop prostate cancer during the 5-year study period. However, the heavier a man was, the greater his risk of dying from the disease.

The new study followed 287,760 men between the ages of 50 and 71 starting in 1995. At the outset, the men completed a questionnaire about their overall health, diet and lifestyle habits, height and weight. Over the next five years, 9,986 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Severely obese men had the lowest risk of developing the disease. When it came to prostate cancer deaths, however, the risk climbed in tandem with a man’s weight. Overweight men were 25 percent more likely than thinmen to die, while obese men were 46 percent more likely. Similarly, the amount of weight a man gained through adulthood was unrelated to his prostate cancer risk.

Obesity tied to prostate cancer death