You may have heard that the ratio of your waist to hip measurement is important to your life expectancy¹. In fact it's thought to be more significant than your BMI .

你可能听别人说过：腰围和臀围的比例对你的寿命至关重要。事实上，这一比例远比你的身体质量指数重要。

If the ratio comes out at less than one - which it would if your waist measures, say, 36ins and your hips² 44ins - then your chances of a long life are good. If, however, the ratio is greater than one (say, waist 50ins, hips 46ins) the outlook isn't so good.

如果比例小于1--比如当你的腰围是36英寸，而你的臀围是44英寸时--那你就很有可能长寿。然而，如果比例大于1（比如腰围50英寸，臀围46英寸），那前景就不那么乐观了。

And now scientists have found this all important ratio is tied to the risk of a deadly form of breast cancer. This is because fat round the waist, giving you an "apple shape", is itself more deadly than fat elsewhere.

现在，科学家发现这一重要的比例与一种致命的乳腺癌风险相关。这是因为腰部的脂肪，让你呈现"苹果状"，本身就比身体其它部位的脂肪更致命。

The new research from Shandong University in China shows that "pear shaped" women who have fat on their thighs³, hips and buttocks are prone⁴ to a more treatable form of breast cancer. They discovered that women with a higher BMI but with a waist-to-hip ratio of less than one are more likely to have ER+ (oestrogen-receptor positive) breast cancer.

中国山东大学的新研究表明："梨状"女性（大腿和臀部有脂肪）更容易患有可以治愈的乳腺癌。他们发现：身体质量指数高但腰围与臀部比小于1的女性更有可能患雌激素受体阳性乳腺癌。

This form of the disease, in which oestrogen can attach itself to proteins in the cancer and stimulate⁵ growth, is usually treated with hormone⁶ blocking drugs. In contrast, women with a high waist-to-hip ratio are more likely to have ER- (oestrogen-receptor negative) breast cancer.

这种疾病的雌激素自行与癌症中的蛋白质结合、刺激生长，通常可用激素阻断药物进行治疗。反过来，腰臀比较高的女性更有可能患有雌激素受体阴性乳腺癌。

This form of the disease can't be treated with hormone blocking drugs and chemotherapy has to be employed.

这类疾病无法用激素阻断药物进行治疗，必须采用化疗。

Significantly, the greater risk of developing ER-breast cancer in women with a high waist-to-hip ratio is present even if they aren't obese⁷, the research found. For the study, researchers recruited 1,316 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Body measurements were taken, details of their form of cancer noted⁸ (whether it was ER+ or ER-) and they were compared to a control group.

值得注意的是，研究发现：即使腰臀比高的女性并不胖，她们还是更有可能患有雌激素受体阴性乳腺癌。研究人员招募了1316位刚诊断出患有乳腺癌的女性，对她们进行了身体检查，记录其癌症类型的细节（无论是雌激素受体阳性乳腺癌还是雌激素受体阴性乳腺癌），并将其与对照组对比。

Lead researcher Dr Zhigang Yu said: "A possible reason is that subcutaneous fat is involved in oestrogen production, which may promote ER+ breast cancer. Visceral or belly fat is more closely related to insulin resistance and may be more likely to promote ER- breast cancer."

首席研究员余之刚说："一个可能的原因就是皮下脂肪参与了雌激素的生成，这可能会促进雌激素受体阳性乳腺癌。内脏或腹部脂肪与胰岛素抵抗密切相关，这更有可能促进雌激素受体阴性乳腺癌。"