Central obesity increases risk of breast cancer irrespective of menopausal and hormonal receptor status in women of South Asian Ethnicity.

•Waist-to-hip ratio increases risk of breast cancer (BC) irrespective of menopausal or hormone receptor status.•High body mass index (BMI) protects the risk of BC in premenopausal women.•The protection in risk of BC continues in women who have high BMI and are postmenopausal for <10 years.•There is an increase in risk of BC in women have high BMI and are postmenopausal for ≥10 years.