Cancers linked to Obesity

Obesity is a major contributor to the development of cancer.  According to the National Cancer Institute obesity is associated with increased risks for cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, breast (after menopause), endometrium, kidney, thyroid, and gallbladder.

 

NHANES 2007-2008 survey found 68 percent of the U.S. adults age 20 years and older are overweight or obese and 17 percent of children and teens ages 2 to 19, are obese.  According to NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, it is estimated that in 2007 in the United States, about 34,000 new cases of cancer in men (4 percent) and 50,500 in women (7 percent) were due to obesity.

In 2003, Calle et al published in NEJM the results of a study of more than 900,000 healthy adults that were followed for 16 years.  The study authors concluded that excess fat could account for 14% of all deaths from cancer in men and 20% of those in women.

A recent study of 92,834 British women enrolled in a database for cancer screening, Fourkala et al reported in an article published in BMJ Open that women who go up a skirt size every decade between their 20s and their 60s are at increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.  They also found that “an increase of one size every 10 years led to a 33 percent rise in the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, while an increase of two sizes per decade led to a 77 percent rise in risk.

Bhaskaran et al study of 5.2 million adults that was published in Lancet found that 166 955 individuals developed cancer and that body-mass index (BMI) was associated with 17 of 22 cancers.  Although the effects varied substantially by site, increase in BMI was roughly linearly associated with cancers of the uterus, gallbladder, kidney, cervix, and leukemia.  BMI increase was positively associated with liver, colon, ovarian, and postmenopausal breast cancers overall. They estimated inverse associations with prostate and premenopausal breast cancer risk, both overall and in non-smokers. By contrast, for lung and oral cavity cancer, they observed no association in non-smokers.  Assuming causality, 41% of uterine and 10% or more of gallbladder, kidney, liver, and colon cancers could be attributable to excess weight. They conclude that extra weight could contribute to more than 12,000 cases of cancer in the UK population every year.

Related Resources:

Physical Activity and Cancer

Energy balance: Weight and Obesity, PhysicalActivity, Diet