overweight andobesity are associated with an increased risk of 13 types of cancer. These cancers account for about 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States in 2014, according to new publications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Overall, the rate of new cases of cancers has declined since the 1990s, but the increase in obesity and obesity-related cancers is seriously slowing this progress.
While rates of cancers unrelated to obesity have declined since 2014, approximately 630,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with cancer associated with overweight and obesity. Obesity-related cancer rates increased by 7% between 2005 and 2014.
“The majority of American adults are overweight or obese and are at higher risk of developing a number of cancers,” said Brenda Fitzgerald, author of the release.
In 2013-2014, approximately 2 in 3 adults in the United States were overweight (defined as having a body mass index of 25-29.9) or obese (with a body mass index of 30 and above).
Weight and cancer alarming figures
The majority of the population does not know that overweight and obesity are associated with certain cancers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has identified 13 cancers associated with overweight andobesity, including that of the esophagus, of the thyroid, gallbladder, stomach, breast after menopause, liver, pancreas, from kidney, from ovaries, uterus, colon and rectum.
In the United States, 55% of all cancers diagnosed in women and 24% of those reported in men are associated with overweight andobesity.
Cancers associated with overweight and obesity, excluding colorectal cancer, increased by 7% between 2005-2014. Mainly due to screening, colorectal cancer has decreased by 23%.
These conclusions echo the results of a study published in the medical journal British medical journal by researchers at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom in March 2017. This revealed a link between obesity and certain major types of cancer, mainly those related to the digestive organs and that of the breast.
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