Breast cancer is the most common obesity-associated cancer in women.
Photo: Andres Ayrton / Pexels
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Maintain a healthy weight in addition to avoiding carcinogenic foods are steps that can help reduce your risk of getting cancer. The National Cancer Institute notes that there is consistent evidence that amounts Higher body fat is associated with higher risks of various types of cancer.
Being overweight and obese has been linked to an increased risk of the following thirteen types of cancer:
Esophageal adenocarcinoma (a type of esophageal cancer), breast cancer, colon and rectal cancer, uterine cancer, gallbladder cancer, gastric cancer of the cardia (in the upper part of the stomach), kidney cancer, liver cancer , ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, meningioma (a type of brain cancer), and multiple myeloma.
Breast cancer is the most common obesity-associated cancer among women after menopause. Colorectal cancer is the most common obesity-associated cancer in men, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The increased risk of cancer from being overweight and obese varies depending on the type of cancer. Cancer risk increases with the excess weight a person gains and the longer they are overweight.
Overweight and obese women are two to four times more likely than normal-weight women to develop endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus), and extremely obese women are almost seven times more likely.
People who are overweight or obese are up to twice as likely as people of normal weight to develop liver and kidney cancer.
Why do being overweight and obese increase the risk of cancer?
There are several possible changes that being overweight and obese can cause in the body that help lead to cancer. Among them: Chronic inflamation; increased production of hormones such as estrogenwhose high concentrations are associated with an increased risk of breast, ovarian, endometrial and some other cancers; higher than normal levels of insulin; altered immune responses; effects on the nuclear factor kappa beta system; and the oxidative stress.
The CDC notes that more than 650,000 obesity-associated cancers occur in the United States each year. 90% of new obesity-related cancers occur in men and women age 50 and over.
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