Obesity and Cancers

 

Breast Cancer

• Postmenopausal women with obesity have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. In addition, weight gain after menopause may also increase breast cancer risk.

• Women who gain nearly 45 pounds or more after age 18 are twice as likely to develop breast cancer after menopause than those who remain weight stable.

• High BMI has been associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer before menopause. However, a recent study found an increased risk of the most lethal form of breast cancer, called inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), in women with BMI as low as 26.7 regardless of menopausal status.

• Premenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer who are overweight appear to have a shorter life span than women with lower BMI.

• The risk of breast cancer in men is also increased by obesity.

 

Cancers of the Esophagus and Gastric Cardia

• Obesity is strongly associated with cancer of the esophagus and the risk becomes higher with increasing BMI.

• The risk for gastric cardia cancer rises moderately with increasing BMI.

 

Colorectal Cancer

• High BMI, high calorie intake, and low physical activity are independent risk factors of colorectal cancer.

• Larger waist size (abdominal obesity) is associated with colorectal cancer.

 

Endometrial Cancer (EC)

• Women with obesity have three to four times the risk of EC than women with lower BMI.

• Women with obesity and diabetes are reported to have a 3-fold increase in risk for EC above the risk of obesity alone.

• Body size is a risk factor for EC regardless of where fat is distributed in the body.

 

Renal Cell Cancer

• Consistent evidence has been found to associate obesity with renal cell cancer, especially in women.

• Excess weight was reported in one study to account for 21% of renal cell cancer cases.