October 6, 2015 – Meningioma Risk

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Anchor lead: Is obesity really the problem with respect to a common type of brain tumor? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Obese people are at a 50% higher risk to develop meningiomas, a common type of brain tumor, than their thinner counterparts, a recent study concludes.  Jon Weingart, a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, says obesity may be a stand-in for something else.

Weingart: These things are always multifactorial.  Sometimes a higher weight can reflect other health problems, which may play more of a role in the development of certain illnesses or tumors, than just the weight itself.  So it’s a reflection of overall health.  Certainly if you’re physically active and keep your weight down, all health problems seem to be less in that circumstance.  :22

Weingart says achieving a healthy weight is key.

Weingart: It’s just not a number that you’re shooting for.  One wouldn’t want to starve oneself to get to a lower weight, one would be much better off to do regular physical exercise, eat healthy, and then find whatever your natural weight would be.   :14

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.