To this end, the data suggested limiting weight gains over the decades, adding that it could help to reduce the risk of these cancers. Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it could have a negative effect on their health.
If a person’s bodyweight is at least 20 per cent higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. If the Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9, the person is considered overweight.
The study is based on a review of more than 1,000 studies of excess weight and cancer risk analysed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Agency for Cancer on Research (IARC), based in France.
Reacting to the development, a Cancer Prevention Expert, Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who chaired the IARC Working Group, said, “The burden of cancer due to being overweight or obese is more extensive than what has been assumed.
“Many of the newly identified cancers linked to excess weight haven’t been on people’s radar screens as having a weight component.”
Science daily reported that the findings could have a significant bearing on the global population. Worldwide, an estimated 640 million adults and 110 million children are obese, including one-third of adults and children in the United States. In 2002, the same group of cancer researchers found sufficient evidence linking excess weight to higher risks of cancers of the colon, esophagus, kidney, breast and uterus.
“Lifestyle factors such as eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising, in addition to not smoking, can have a significant impact on reducing cancer risk,” Colditz said. “Public health efforts to combat cancer should focus on these things that people have some control over.”
“But losing weight is hard for many people,” he added. “Rather than getting discouraged and giving up, those struggling to take off weight could instead focus on avoiding more weight gain.
In Nigeria, obesity is fast becoming a challenge for elite living in the cities. this is due to the lifestyle of the people involved, most of whom are from the upper rung of the society.
