Washington, Mar 17 : Poor self-esteem, embarrassment and unwanted weight loss advice from doctors are steering obese women away from regular breast cancer screening, thereby putting themselves at an increased risk of developing the disease.
The research team led by Nisa Maruthur from The John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA has shown that obese women are 20 percent less likely to have had a recent mammography than normal weight women, especially among the white population.
The authors highlight a number of reasons why obese women may not be undergoing breast cancer screening.