Health Update: Heightened risk

TALL women are more at risk of developing breast cancer than their shorter sisters, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. In a study involving 3,500 women, they have found that those of 5ft 8in and more are 50 to 80 per cent more likely to develop the disease than women who are about 5ft.

The study also revealed that whereas weight gain in younger women had a protective effect against breast cancer, older women who were overweight ran a greater risk of developing it.