Obesity Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

Fat Increase May Lead to 40% of Cancers, New Study Finds

Becoming overweight poses a significant risk and could contribute to as many as four out of ten cancer cases, according to findings obtained from a major research study. Age-old perceptions about the connection between cancer and excessive weight have often failed to encapsulate the entire scope of the problem. However, experts have now managed to identify a more extensive range of 32 tumor types linked to obesity.

A recent groundbreaking investigation conducted by Lund University in Sweden sheds new light on the correlation between weight and cancer, expanding on previously known connections. Over an impressive observation period of 45 years, scientists meticulously tracked the health of a staggering 4.1 million individuals, meticulously cross-referencing the data points of no less than 332,501 cancer cases.

The US Sun reports that their findings indicate that weight issues directly contributed to a startling 40% of the cancer cases under investigation. Significantly, researchers have established connections between excess body weight and 19 more tumor types in comparison to a previous study carried out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2016. This means that the hazards of obesity exceed the other 13 recognized cancer types, and some of the associations had never been explored in relation to weight problems.

Expanding the List of Cancers Associated with Obesity

With the inclusion of cancers affecting the mouth, throat, stomach, and brain, the updated list manifests the intricate interplay between our body weight and the development of tumors. Dr. Ming Sun, the lead researcher of the study, emphasizes the importance of their groundbreaking discoveries, stating, “Our findings suggest that the impact of obesity on cancer might be greater than previously known.” She continues, “It is a risk factor for more cancers, especially of rarer kinds, and some of these have never before been investigated in relation to obesity.”