Weight gain throughout adulthood had long been known as a risk factor for developing breast cancer, but an increase in waist girth is of particular danger for developing the disease.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it’s estimated that over 508,000 women died in 2011 from breast cancer.

Researchers analyzed 93,000 women who took part in the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) in England between 2005 and 2010. The women were over the age of 50 years and had already gone through menopause. None of the women had any known breast cancer upon initiation of the study.

The women provided information regarding their Body Mass Index (BMI), fertility, use of hormonal contraceptives and treatments, and family history of breast cancer, which all are risk factors for developing the disease. They also provided information regarding their current skirt size, and the size it was in their early 20s.

Throughout the monitoring time period, 1,090 women developed breast cancer. After taking into account other risk factors, an increase in skirt size was the most significant predictor of the risk of breast cancer.

The researchers concluded that an increase in one skirt size every 10 years was linked to a 33 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer after menopause. An increase of two skirt sizes every 10 years was linked to a 77 percent increase risk of developing the disease.

An expanding waistline has been associated with other types of cancer as well, including uterine, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer.