A study conducted by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Health System sought to shed some more light on the relationship between obesity and cancer.
Obesity was confirmed to be a risk factor for both developing cancer and dying from cancer. That said, it also gives us hope! If an obese person loses weight, this risk decreases. The Cleveland Clinic study followed people with obesity to determine their risk of developing cancer and dying from the disease. They compared those who underwent weight loss surgery against those who did not and found that yes: people with obesity have a higher risk of getting cancer and dying from the disease, but they also found that the risk was reduced for those who underwent surgery and lost weight.
Obesity can contribute to the development and growth of cancer in several ways:
- Causes increased cellular inflammation
- Alters the microbiota (set of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses and parasites that reside in our body).
- Causes insulin resistance leading to excessive blood sugar level
- Increases levels of insulin-like growth factors, estrogens, and adipokines
According to the study authors, “patients generally try to lose weight to decrease the risk of diabetes or heart attacks,” but weight loss can also prevent cancer!
Obesity increases the risk of developing 13 types of cancer that account for 40% of all cancer diagnoses each year in the United States.
The study showed that weight loss can decrease the risk of developing cancer, and confirmed that the benefit is indirectly proportional: the greater the weight loss, the lower the risk of cancer.
However, every effort counts! Even if the weight loss is moderate or modest, this also contributes to some extent to the prevention of certain obesity-related cancers.
Adopting a healthy diet helps prevent disease and maintain a healthy weight, reducing a wide variety of health problems. It is necessary to be aware of the importance of our diet, since every food we eat directly impacts our physical well-being. As Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy food and food be thy medicine“.
For more information, we invite you to visit the article “CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2022 Nov” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2793220 and to continue to share relevant information and be part of prevention.
