When you think about these numbers, you are taken aback. 40% of all cancers, or close to half, are associated with obesity. And it is responsible for 32 types of cancer, including the most common ones. Previously, there were only 13 such tumors, and it was still scary.
The “devil’s dozen” of cancers were identified based on a large number of studies by experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This serious organization is a division of WHO. healthcust reader wrote about this in detail last year .
Colossal statistics
New, more frightening data was obtained as a result of a simply colossal study in which the fate of 4.1 million people was monitored for more than 40 years. That is, it is based on such powerful statistics that it is difficult not to trust it. It seems that such a large number of observations made it possible to identify the additional burden of cancer in obesity: 19 new types of tumors and an increase in the number of cancer-related deaths from 25% to 40%.
“Our findings suggest that the impact of obesity on cancer may be greater than previously thought,” said lead study author Dr. Ming Sun from Lund University in Sweden. “It is a risk factor for more cancers, especially rare types, and some of them have never been studied before in relation to obesity.”
Not all the details of the study by Swedish scientists are known; it has not yet been published, but was only presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice. And this became the main sensation of the scientific forum, which was written about by many world media.
Dr Jennifer Baker , from the European Association for the Study of Obesity, called the study “groundbreaking”: “These results show that we are likely to face a significant increase in cancer cases.” Experts say that, in fact, obesity is becoming the second leading cause of cancer after smoking.
New and old lists
We do not yet know all the details of the study of Swedish scientists, but the main thing is clear. They assessed the association of 122 cancers with obesity. As a result, they added 19 new types of tumors to the previously known 13 types. Here they are: cancers of the stomach, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, head and neck, oral cavity, paranasal sinuses, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, parathyroid glands, cervix, vagina, penis, skin (2 types of tumors, including melanoma), connective tissue and two malignant diseases of the lymphatic system.
And here are 13 types of cancer associated with obesity, which were previously known: cancers of the endometrium (tumor of the uterine body), esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, colon and rectum, gall bladder, breast, ovaries, thyroid , as well as myeloma (one of the blood cancers), meningioma (tumor of the brain membrane).
The stomach and pancreas appear on both lists, but this is not a mistake. It’s just that Swedish scientists have discovered new types of tumors that were not previously associated with these organs. For example, IARC experts believed that not all cases of stomach cancer are associated with obesity, but only tumors of the so-called cardiac region (this is the upper part of the stomach adjacent to the esophagus), and Swedish scientists found that there is a connection with ordinary cancer that affects other parts stomach.
Much is already known about the mechanisms of the connection between cancer and obesity, but not everything. This is primarily attributed to the ability of large amounts of body fat to provoke chronic inflammation, negatively impact metabolism, and alter levels of several hormones associated with cancer.
There are reasons for optimism
There is an optimistic side to this scary study by scientists at Lund University. If people can avoid gaining excess weight, they will be better protected against these cancers. Therefore, it is important to lead an active lifestyle and eat right (at the same time, this will also benefit many other serious diseases).
Of course, you need to have a good understanding of what obesity is. Anyone can make such a diagnosis, even without the help of a doctor. It is determined by the so-called body mass index (BMI). Swedish scientists determined the presence of obesity in the same way in this study.
BMI is calculated using the following formula: BMI = body weight/height².
In this case, weight is calculated in kg, and height in meters. Here’s what the different BMI numbers mean:
- below 18.5 – underweight
- from 18.5 to 24.9 – normal (healthy) weight
- from 25.0 to 29.9 – overweight (this is not obesity, but it is also good for health)
- from 30.0 to 39.9 – obesity
- from 40.0 and above – severe (morbid) obesity.
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