A new study from the Washington University of Medicine in St. Louis has shed some light on the impact of excess stomach fat upon women diagnosed with kidney cancer. According to the study, fat has an impact on how successful a woman might be in her fight against kidney cancer but not so much in men.

Over 50% mortality was recorded within 3 and a half years in females with kidney cancer that also had significant abdominal fat. This same research conducted over a decade revealed that over half of the women with little abdominal fat died before 10 years. For men on the other hand, there was significant observation on the impact or how long men stayed alive while having kidney cancer.

This therefore implies that the occurrence and development of kidney cancer in both men and women are different, with women having accelerated cancer growth.

Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD, a senior author and an instructor in radiology at Mallinckrodt institute of Radiology at the school of Medicine noted that they are just starting to observe sex as an important factor in cancer. Metabolism in men and women is different and tumors growing in the body of a man are exposed to a different environment than those that grow in a woman.

Another major risk factor in kidney cancer development is excess weight however; this doesn’t automatically portend a poor outcome. Instead, the new study suggests that how long a patient lives after diagnosis isn’t influenced much by the quantity of the body fat but the distribution of this fat, especially for women.

A person’s height and weight are the criteria usually used to estimate a person’s body fat but not every fat is the same. There’s the subcutaneous fat, which is the fat you can squeeze and is mostly harmless however, there is the visceral fat located within the abdomen and encases internal organs have ben linked with heart diseases, diabetes and several types of cancer.

Visceral fat can be accurately measured by using a tape around a person’s waist because it sits deep into the person’s abdomen. Images of 145 men and 77 women were analyzed. These scans were gotten from the Cancer Imaging Archive, a collection of demographic, clinical and imaging data on hundreds of cancer patients. It was observed that in less than 3 and half years, over 50% of the women with high visceral fat died while over 50% of those with low visceral fat died within 12 years. Usually, women gain visceral fat after menopause.

There is no established link between visceral fat and length of survival in men. Ippolito noted that he knows there are major differences in the metabolism of men and women and this affects how the cells use glucose, fatty acid and other nutrients as well as how the fat is carried. The fact that visceral fat has an impact on women and not men shows that there are other underlying factors besides weight.

The other factor could involve the tumor itself. It has been established that tumor cells prefer sugar as a fuel source but some have a sweeter tooth than others. Patients with sugar-hungry tumor cells are in trouble, especially if they insist on fueling these tumors with an unhealthy diet high in sugar.

So, What Are Some Top Ways To Ditch Sweet Cravings?

• Stevia is a good substitute should you need to sweeten something.

• Try eating a piece of fruit when you feel the urge to eat sweets. If you want a cookie, have an apple and wait 15 minutes. Chances are, the cookie craving will go away. Frozen grapes or berries are a great way to satisfy sweet snack cravings

• Drink plenty of water. Sometimes cravings are a result of thirst. Have a glass of water when you crave sugar, and wait a few minutes to see if the craving goes away.

Be sure to check our website, and article section, frequently for all the latest on how to keep your kidneys healthy.