Some people think you can be overweight but still be healthy. Because, for example, you exercise a lot or eat healthy. But actually that doesn’t exist. If you are obese and have no other complaints, such as high blood pressure, you still have an increased risk of cancer.
This has emerged from a large comparative study into the relationship between overweight – with or without metabolic syndrome – and cancer.
Researchers and doctors will meet in Dublin in the coming days European Congress on Obesity to exchange knowledge about the medical consequences of obesity. Researcher Ming Sun from Malmö must have thought that the perfect platform to present a large obesity study. The lead researcher, together with his Swedish colleagues, studied the health data of almost 800,000 Europeans (23,630 of whom were cancer patients) and came up with some interesting conclusions about the interplay between obesity, the metabolic syndrome and cancer.
Large European study on obesity versus cancer
The participants were divided into six groups: metabolically unhealthy obese (6.8 percent), metabolically healthy obese (3.4 percent), metabolically unhealthy overweight (15.4 percent), metabolically healthy overweight (19.8 percent), metabolically unhealthy with normal weight (12.5 percent) and metabolically healthy with normal weight (42 percent). To determine metabolic health, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides (fats in the blood) were measured. Then the search for statistical relationships could begin. The first five groups were all compared to the metabolically healthy normal weight group.
Metabolically unhealthy people with obesity appear to have a greatly increased risk of a range of cancers, including tumors of the small and large intestine, rectum, pancreas, liver, endometrium, renal cell and gallbladder. The greatest differences were found for endometrial, liver and renal cell cancers, where the chances turned out to be 2.5 to 3 times greater.
Metabolically unhealthy obese women have a 21 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer, a whopping 200 percent higher risk of endometrial cancer and a 150 percent higher risk of kidney cancer. While metabolically healthy obese women do not have an increased risk of colon cancer, they have a 140 percent higher risk of endometrial cancer and an 80 percent higher risk of kidney cancer.
Greater risk for men
Metabolically unhealthy obese men have a 160 percent higher risk of kidney cancer, an 85 percent higher risk of colon cancer and a 32 percent higher risk of pancreatic and rectal cancer, while metabolically healthy obese men have a 67, 42 and 0 percent higher risk, respectively.
The combination of severe obesity and metabolic syndrome is therefore linked to the development of all kinds of cancers, but obesity alone is also enough to put you in a higher risk group, the researchers explain. “This has far-reaching consequences for public health. It strongly seems that a large number of cancers can be prevented by tackling obesity and metabolic problems. This is especially true for obesity-related cancers in men. The metabolic syndrome on top of obesity increases the risk of cancer even more,” the researchers conclude.
What is Metabolic Syndrome?
The metabolic syndrome consists of five health complaints that are related to the metabolism and can influence each other. Patients have a combination of high blood pressure, overweight (BMI of 25 or more), too much bad cholesterol, too high blood sugar or too large a waist circumference (94 cm or more in men, 80 cm or more in women). In the presence of three or more of these risk factors, a person has metabolic syndrome.
20.1 percent of men and 9.5 percent of women between the ages of 30 and 39 already suffer from a combination of three risk factors. Heredity and an unhealthy lifestyle contribute to metabolic syndrome. The danger of the condition is that the weight slowly increases, while the physical condition continues to deteriorate. The body will produce more organ fat and break it down less, which reduces insulin sensitivity and can lead to insulin resistance. Because of metabolic syndrome, the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart attack, and all kinds of cancer is increasing.
By living a healthier life, metabolic syndrome can be prevented and cured. What helps is quitting smoking, eating healthier, moving more, getting enough sleep and reducing stress. This involves a structural change in behaviour, which is best learned step by step. New habits are created by introducing small, feasible changes in the areas of exercise, healthy food, sleep rhythm and relaxation.
2023-05-16 14:30:17
#healthy #overweight #greater #risk #kinds #cancer
