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Researchers have known for sometime that overweight women seem to have increased odds of developing breast cancer, in comparison to those women who keep their weight in check. However, they weren’t really sure what the link was, other than being overweight. New research has found evidence pointing to insulin levels.

Previous research has determined that obesity increases the risk of breast cancer, especially in postmenopausal women who are obese. Obesity brings along many health risks which include higher levels of estrogen and insulin. Estimates have shown that between 7 and 15 percent of all cases of breast cancer are as a result of being overweight. Previously researchers had thought the link between obesity and breast cancer was increased estrogen levels produced by fat, but now scientists have evidence that the increased risk may also be linked to raised insulin levels, also caused by obesity.

Even though the new evidence was gathered during the first study evaluating insulin levels in women and breast cancer rates, while controlling estrogen levels, the data actually shows those women with higher insulin levels who are overweight, had greater odds of developing breast cancer. The new study was conducted by Marc Gunter, Ph.D. and Howard Strickler, M.D. with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and colleagues. The group evaluated the connection between incident breast cancer and baseline fasting insulin levels in 825 women who had developed breast cancer and 816 who had not.

The women were divided into four groups based on their fasting insulin levels. The study found that those women with high fasting insulin levels had one and a half times the chances of developing breast cancer as the women with the lowest insulin levels. The group took their research a step further and took a look at those women who were not taking hormone therapy. The researchers found those women with the highest insulin levels to have increased odds of developing breast cancer of 2.4 times, compared to those with the lowest levels. Even when considering additional risk factors such as estrogen.

Obesity leads to many health risks and concerns, and a growing number of Americans fall into this category annually. The new study recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute stated that this new data suggests a higher level of insulin is a independent risk factor for breast cancer and may play a significant role in explaining the obesity-breast cancer relationship.