As weight goes up, so does breast cancer risk.(includes related article on age as a breast cancer risk factor)

The heaviest women in their 40s and 50s have roughly double the risk of developing breast cancer as the leanest women the same age. Furthermore, relatively heavy 50-something women who have gained more than 10 pounds since they were in their 40s have about triple the risk of falling victim to breast cancer compared with thinner women whose weight has remained stable. That's the latest from the National Cancer Institute, where researchers studied more than 1,500 women.

What it comes to in practical terms is this: a 5-foot 5-inch woman in her 50s who weighs at least 145 pounds is more than twice as likely to develop breast cancer as a woman her age and height who weighs 118 pounds. And if she has gained …