Scientists have alerted that obesity strongly increases the risk of
developing 11 types of cancer. These are the result of a major study
published in the ‘British Medical Journal’.
Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body
fat that it might 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 your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. Being overweight is probably linked to many other forms of the illness but so far, there is not enough evidence, researchers said.
The types of cancers linked to obesity include breast, oesophagus, stomach, bowel, rectum, biliary tract system, pancreas, womb, ovary, kidney and the blood cancer myeloma. Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
Although, it is not all tumours that are cancerous; benign tumours do not spread to other parts of the body. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans. Concerning the new study, researchers from Imperial College London calculated that men’s risk of developing biliary tract cancer increases by up to 56 per cent for every 11lb gained in weight.
For women, the risk of womb cancer rises by 21 per cent for every 0.1 point increase in hip to waist ratio. The findings are particularly concerning as a quarter of adults and a fifth of 11-year-olds are classed as obese. Reacting to the development, Dr. Panagiota Mitrou, of the World Cancer Research Fund, which funded the study, said: “This further emphasises the huge role that obesity plays in increasing cancer risk.”
The research highlighted previous figures showing that some cancers could be prevented each year if everyone has a healthy weight. It looked at 204 existing studies which examined the link between obesity and cancer.
If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. Being overweight is probably linked to many other forms of the illness but so far, there is not enough evidence, researchers said.
The types of cancers linked to obesity include breast, oesophagus, stomach, bowel, rectum, biliary tract system, pancreas, womb, ovary, kidney and the blood cancer myeloma. Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
Although, it is not all tumours that are cancerous; benign tumours do not spread to other parts of the body. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans. Concerning the new study, researchers from Imperial College London calculated that men’s risk of developing biliary tract cancer increases by up to 56 per cent for every 11lb gained in weight.
For women, the risk of womb cancer rises by 21 per cent for every 0.1 point increase in hip to waist ratio. The findings are particularly concerning as a quarter of adults and a fifth of 11-year-olds are classed as obese. Reacting to the development, Dr. Panagiota Mitrou, of the World Cancer Research Fund, which funded the study, said: “This further emphasises the huge role that obesity plays in increasing cancer risk.”
The research highlighted previous figures showing that some cancers could be prevented each year if everyone has a healthy weight. It looked at 204 existing studies which examined the link between obesity and cancer.
