The American Institute for Cancer Research says that about 100,500 new cancers each year can be attributed to excess weight and body fat, and suggests that more cancers will be found to be influenced by a person’s weight as more research is done in this arena.

What sorts of cancers are affected by weight?

According to the report, presented at AICR’s annual conference, obesity accounts for:

• 20,700 cases of endometrial cancer, or 49 percent of those cancers
• 5,800 cases of esophageal cancer (35 percent)
• 11,900 cases of pancreatic cancer (28 percent)
• 13,900 cases of kidney cancer (24 percent)
• 2,000 cases of gallbladder cancer (21 percent)
• 33,000 cases of breast cancer (17 percent)
• 13,200 cases of colorectal cancer (9 percent)

“We now know that carrying excess body fat plays a central role in many of the most common cancers,” Laurence Kolonel, deputy director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, said in a press release on the report. “And it’s clearer than ever that obesity’s impact is felt before, during and after cancer — it increases risk, makes treatment more difficult and shortens survival.”

The danger of excess weight

About one-third of all American adults are obese, which also increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems. How obesity plays a role in cancer is different for each cancer, as Tim Byers, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Denver, told USA Today. For instance, with breast and endometrial cancers, the increased levels of estrogen found in postmenopausal women who are overweight may lead to more cancer, while acid reflux, common in people with excess weight, could boost esophageal cancer risk.

Having too much fat also may lower immune system function and lead to oxidative stress, both of which could increase cancer risk.

Melinda Irwin, an associate professor of epidemiology at Yale, presented further research that linked higher body mass index to lower rates of cancer survival. She says it’s important for people with cancer, no matter their weight, to exercise regularly, because studies have shown that regular physical activity can positively impact survival rates regardless of a person’s body mass index.

Many people don’t know about obesity’s link to cancer

The AICR also revealed the results of its annual survey on attitudes surrounding cancer and found that while a record number of people understand there’s a link between obesity and cancer, the number of people who know that is just 51 percent. That’s compared to 94 percent of people who know that tobacco use can cause cancer, and 87 percent who see sun exposure as a potential danger.

And while AICR says up to a third of cancers could be prevented through lifestyle changes, just 20 percent of those surveyed saw cancer as a highly preventable health problem (compared to 34 percent for stroke, 45 percent for heart attack and 46 percent for diabetes).

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 and is filed under Obesity health dangers, cancer and weight. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.