Some 124,000 weight-related cases appear yearly

Sep 24, 2009 14:05 GMT  ·  By
Weight imbalances caused 124,000 new cases of cancer in Europe last year alone
   Weight imbalances caused 124,000 new cases of cancer in Europe last year alone

Being severely overweight or obese is naturally not a good thing, but recent studies have finally placed a number on the correlation between body weight and the incidence of cancer. According to the papers, no less than 124,000 of the new cancer cases that appear every year are caused by improper and unhealthy weight. The new modeling study, which was performed in Europe, focused on a body mass index (BMI) of 25kg/m2. Women in central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria were the most affected population segment, the study also found.

“As more people stop smoking and fewer women take hormone replacement therapy, it is possible that obesity may become the biggest attributable cause of cancer in women within the next decade,” Dr. Andrew Renehan, a senior lecturer in cancer studies and surgery at the University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, shared at the 15th congress of the European CanCer Organization, and the 34th congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ECCO 15 – ESMO 34). The meetings took place Thursday, September 24, in Berlin, Germany.

“I must emphasize that we are trying not to be sensationalist about this. These are very conservative estimates, and it's quite likely that the numbers are, in fact, higher,” the expert explained, adding that a particular situation was found in the UK. The number of obesity-related esophageal cancers in the nation is considerably higher than anywhere else in Europe, including its poorest countries. “This may be due to synergistic interactions between smoking, alcohol, excess body weight and acid reflux – and is currently an area where research is required,” the scientist added.

The statistic also showed that, of all cancers attributable to an excess BMI, only three types accounted for more than 65 percent of the new cases. Out of the 124,000 new cases, 33,421 were of endometrial cancer, 27,770 of post-menopausal cancer, and 23,730 of colorectal cancer. When it came to differentiating between men and women, the results were even more surprising. Only 3.2 percent of new cancers in men could be attributed to body weight, whereas 8.6 percent of new cancers in women were due to excessive weight.

“The overall size of the burden of increasing cancer incidence should inform health policy. For example, it is clear that, in both relative and absolute terms, obesity-related cancer is a greater problem for women than for men. At a country level, it is a greater problem for central European countries like the Czech Republic, whereas it is less of a problem in France and Denmark. Similarly, obesity-related esophageal cancer seems to be a substantial and unique problem in the UK,” the expert added.

“The study also identifies priorities for research into certain cancers, namely endometrial, breast and colorectal cancers. In the face of an unabated obesity epidemic, and apparent failure of public health policies to control weight gain, there is a need to look at alternative strategies, including pharmacological approaches,” Dr. Renehan concluded.