That's Fit

Consuming alcohol can lead to weight gain. One bottle of beer contains about 150 calories. Have a few drinks a few times per week and your waistline may begin to bulge.

Have one or two small drinks per day and alcohol can lead to breast cancer too.

Monday, it was revealed that a large U.S. study is linking alcohol consumption to an increased risk of the most common type of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The study is the biggest of the three major studies concluding that drinking and breast cancer risk are connected.

This new research found that women who consumed one or two small drinks per day were 32 percent more likely to develop a hormone-sensitive tumor -- 70 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have this type of disease. Make it three or more drinks per day and the risk spikes to 51 percent.

It doesn't matter the type of alcohol, say researchers. The risk is evident across the board. Why? It could be that alcohol interferes with the metabolism of estrogen which raises the risk of cancer.

While it's too early to make specific recommendations in light of this study, women should clearly think about their drinking habits and talk with their doctors to assess risk factors and lifestyle changes.

Breast cancer is the second most common female cancer killer -- lung cancer is number one -- and will strike 1.2 million people globally this year. It will kill 500,000.