Excess body fat now linked to 13 different types of cancer

Worldwide, an estimated 640 million adults in 2014 were obese, an increase of six-fold since 1975.

It was also the same IARC researchers that have linked the original five types of cancer to obesity back in 2002.

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, oncology experts found sufficient evidence linking overweight individuals with a higher risk of cancer of the gastric cardia (stomach), liver, gallbladder, pancreas, ovary, thyroid, meningioma (brain) and multiple myeloma (blood).

Excess fat leads to an overproduction of estrogen, testosterone and insulin, and promotes inflammation, which can stimulate cancer growth.

For the study, the research team, led by experts from Washington University School of Medicine, analyzed more than 1,000 studies that looked at possible connection between excess body weight and cancer risk.

Director of Public Policy at Cancer Council Australia Paul Grogan said more cases of cancer attributed to excess weight have been diagnosed in Australia than first thought.

Colditz added that as weight is now somewhat of a key factor in developing cancer, people must develop a healthier lifestyle. “Public health efforts in the fight against cancer should focus on modifiable risk factors”, said Graham Colditz. Since losing weight may be too big of a task for some, the researchers suggest instead that they shift their focus to gaining less weight as this may be more manageable.

From a list of five, World Health Organization (WHO) experts have increased the types of cancer connected to carrying extra body weight to thirteen.

A working group of 21 independent global cancer experts reviewed more than 1,000 studies on cancer risk and excess body fat published since the IARC’s 2002 report.

The findings showed that for most of the cancers on the newly expanded list, the higher the body-mass index, or BMI, the greater was the risk of developing cancers.

These include cancer of the esophagus, colon, uterus, breast, and kidney.

Being overweight linked to eight more kinds of cancer was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 26, 2016 and was last updated on August 26, 2016.

Commenting on the study, Caroline Moye, head of the World Cancer Research Fund, said: “This new report further adds to our own evidence that being overweight or obese increases the risk of cancer”.

For those already overweight, evidence appears that intentional weight loss, regardless of the means, has a cancer preventive effect if significant weight loss is achieved, Hursting said. In the United States, almost 71 percent of adults over 20 are overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The results should be a wake-up call for women. “It’s time to take our health and our diet seriously”.