A new study associated obesity with almost 500,000 new cancer cases per year since 1982.
Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), spearheaded by Dr. Melina Arnold, analyzed the cancer data of 184 countries and created a model showing the correlation between cancer rates and obesity.
The findings, published in the Nov. 26 issue of Lancet Oncology, showed that the majority of new obesity-related cancer cases involve women at 5.4 percent or 345,000 new diagnoses, compared to men at 1.9 percent or 136,000 cases. The common cancer types identified in women were postmenopausal breast, endometrial and colon cancers that account to 75 percent or almost 250,000 cases. The rate was lower in men at only a third or nearly 90,000 cases of kidney and colon cancers.
Further analysis suggests that developing countries are less likely to develop obesity-related cancers compared to those from highly-developed countries. Obesity-related cancer rates in developed countries were 11 percent compared to 1.8 percent in developing countries.
"The number of cancers linked to obesity and overweight is expected to rise globally along with economic development," said IARC director Christopher Wild to Reuters.
Most of the new cancer cases recorded were from North America with 110,000 cancers, or 23 percent, while the lowest rate came from the African region was at only 1.5 percent, or 7,300.
"Our findings add support for a global effort to address the rising trends in obesity. The global prevalence of obesity in adults has doubled since 1980. If this trend continues it will certainly boost the future burden of cancer, particularly in South America and North Africa, where the largest increases in the rate of obesity have been seen over the last 30 years," said Dr Arnold in a press release.
The results of the study highlight the importance of having a healthy body mass index (BMI) to lower the risk of developing cancer. A BMI exceeding 25 is overweight, while 30 and above is considered obese.
