Obesity in Women Increases Cancer Risks by 40%

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Obesity is widely known to pose risk of cardiovascular diseases, but a recent study also suggests there's a very high risk of cancer in obese women. The cancer research UK reports 40 percent increased risk of different types of cancer in obese women in a press release on March 16, 2015.

Increased risk of post-menopausal breast, womb, gallbladder, pancreatic, bowel, kidney, and oesophageal cancer are reported in the study, says the eurekalert.org. About 274 over-weight women in 1,000 are at a risk of cancer than healthy weight women with statistics of 194 risks in 1,000. Though there are multiple factors contributing to cancer risk, estrogen produced by the fat cells fuel cancer development possibly to a large extent.  

Adipokines produced by the fat cells are capable of promoting or stopping the growth of cells, according to the National Cancer Institute. Obese people produce a hunger hormone, called leptin, which in turn stimulates and promotes the growth of cells, obviously feeding the cancer cells, says the Medical Daily.

Tracey Tanner, a 35-year-old Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor, said that cancer was an alarm that made her realize that she wasn't just overweight, but obese.

"I knew I had to do something about changing my lifestyle so I began eating more healthy and exercising - I felt better and better. I've made other healthy changes too, giving up fizzy drinks and junk food. I've slowly worked myself up to take part in Race for Life and am now in training for my first marathon, which will be a huge milestone for me," added Tanner, according to eurekalert.org.

It is not easy to lose weight, but it is not necessary to run miles at a stretch, join a gym, or give up eating favourite food, said Dr Julie Sharp, head of Health Information at Cancer Research UK. She also added that making little changes in lifestyle that could be maintained for a long time possibly throughout the life would give better results. Cutting down on consumption of sugary and fatty foods and getting off the bus earlier and walking a mile or a half regularly would help in weight reduction, added the doctor.

Sharp also said that genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence the risk of cancer and helping and educating women on reducing the cancer risk is crucial in tackling the disease.

"Lifestyle changes - like not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and cutting back on alcohol - are the big opportunities for us all to personally reduce our cancer risk. Making these changes is not a guarantee against cancer, but it stacks the odds in our favour" said Sharp, reports the eurekalert.org.