Older overweight women have another compelling reason to shed excess pounds. A new study shows that older overweight women significantly increase their risk of acute leukemia.Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is the most common form of leukemia in adults and the rates of this cancer are growing among older adults. It is not an inherited disease but the result of genetic damage to developing cells in the bone marrow. Epidemiologist Julie Ross, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota observed more than 37,000 women for a period of approximately 14 years. At the start of the study the women were free of cancer. However 200 of them developed leukemia during the observational period.
