The most common and deadly form of this disease in women after menopause is estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer. According to Joyce Slingerland, MD, Ph.D., who co-leads the Cancer Host Interaction Program at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, the outlook for ER-positive breast cancer is particularly stark for postmenopausal women with obesity: They are more likely to be diagnosed with this form of the disease and they are two to three times more likely to die from it.

“That’s particularly concerning because it’s estimated that obesity will affect nearly half of women in the United States by the end of the decade,” Slingerland explained.