Does Excess Body Weight Increase Your Risk Of Cancer?

Excess Weight and Risk of Cancer

Does excess body weight increase your risk of cancer?

 

While there’s still much more cancer research to be done, the early evidence is pointing to a possible relationship between certain types of cancer and body weight. According to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) estimate, about 20% of all cancers diagnosed in America today are related to body fatness, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and/or poor nutrition–all highly preventable. While all factors listed above may contribute to your risk of cancer, excess body weight seems to have the strongest evidence linking it to cancer.

 

“Excess body weight contributes to as many as 1 out of 5 of all cancer-related deaths.”

American Cancer Society

According to a recent American Cancer Society report, being overweight or obese is clearly linked with an increased risk of many cancers, including cancers of the:

  • Breast (in post-menopausal women)
  • Colon and rectum
  • Endometrium (lining of the uterus)
  • Esophagus
  • Kidney
  • Pancreas

 

Further, researchers also suspect being overweight or obese might raise the risk of other cancers, such as:

  • Gallbladder
  • Liver
  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
  • Multiple myeloma (a blood cancer)
  • Cervix
  • Ovary
  • Some forms of Prostate cancer

 

Evidence from another study, published in a 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that the absence of excess weight (specifically “body fatness”) lowers risk of cancers of the following organs.

  • Breast (in post-menopausal women)
  • Colon
  • Esophagus
  • Kidneys
  • Uterus
  • Stomach
  • Liver
  • Gallbladder
  • Pancreas
  • Ovarian
  • Thyroid
  • Multiple myeloma (a blood cancer)
  • Meningioma (a type of central nervous system tumor)

 

There is much research still to be done regarding the link between body weight and cancer. However, based on studies completed today, there is compelling evidence that being overweight or obese could increase ones risk of some cancers. While we await conclusive evidence, health care professionals today advocate that its best to err on the side of caution and work to maintain a healthy body weight, at any age, in attempts to prevent cancer.

Much more research is needed to better identify and understand any possible links between body weight and occurrences of cancer.

SOURCE: American Cancer Society, World Cancer Research Fund, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a division of the World Health Organization, New England Journal of Medicine

 

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Does Excess Body Weight Increase Your Risk Of Cancer?


Does excess body weight increase your risk of cancer?

 

While there’s still much more cancer research to be done, the early evidence is pointing to a possible relationship between certain types of cancer and body weight. According to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) estimate, about 20% of all cancers diagnosed in America today are related to body fatness, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and/or poor nutrition–all highly preventable. While all factors listed above may contribute to your risk of cancer, excess body weight seems to have the strongest evidence linking it to cancer.

 

“Excess body weight contributes to as many as 1 out of 5 of all cancer-related deaths.”

American Cancer Society

According to a recent American Cancer Society report, being overweight or obese is clearly linked with an increased risk of many cancers, including cancers of the:

 

Further, researchers also suspect being overweight or obese might raise the risk of other cancers, such as:

 

Evidence from another study, published in a 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that the absence of excess weight (specifically “body fatness”) lowers risk of cancers of the following organs.

 

There is much research still to be done regarding the link between body weight and cancer. However, based on studies completed today, there is compelling evidence that being overweight or obese could increase ones risk of some cancers. While we await conclusive evidence, health care professionals today advocate that its best to err on the side of caution and work to maintain a healthy body weight, at any age, in attempts to prevent cancer.

Much more research is needed to better identify and understand any possible links between body weight and occurrences of cancer.

SOURCE: American Cancer Society, World Cancer Research Fund, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a division of the World Health Organization, New England Journal of Medicine