Doctors in Scotland claim wearing tight belts can increase chances of developing throat cancer, the Telegraph reported.
The team of medical researchers believe that wearing a tight belt while being overweight can force acid into the esophagus, damaging cells and growing the risk of throat cancer.
Researchers from Glasgow University, Strathclyde University, and the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow tested a total of 24 participants who had no previous history with acid reflux.
Each person was asked to swallow a probe which recorded measurements before and after they ate a meal.
Half of the group was average-sized and the other half was overweight. The measurements were taken twice -- once with a belt on, once with it off.
According to the research, even healthy people who wear tight belts can develop partial hiatus hernia, which can lead to acid reflux.
A hiatus hernia occurs when part of the stomach is pushed into the chest through an opening in the diaphragm, which can cause acid to leak into the esophagus.
This is connected to cancer because the acid forced into the gullet by wearing a belt can damage cells in the esophagus, causing them to change.
Most significant was the link between tight belts and throat cancer in the overweight part of the group.
"Wearing a tight belt, especially if you are overweight, puts strain on the valve between the stomach and the gullet. This causes stomach acid to leak upwards into the gullet.
"Unlike the stomach, which is designed to withstand this, the gullet is damaged by the acid. This causes heartburn and, in the longer term, possibly esophageal cancer," lead researcher Professor Kenneth McCall said.
The study was published in Gut, a British medical journal. The researchers said they share a growing concern of esophageal cancer being the most rapidly increasing disease in the world.
