That “spare tire” may increase your cancer risk

I’ve been speaking out about the dangers of obesity for decades. Yet the problem is still growing—all puns intended—despite ample awareness.  

If you ask me, we should be pushing to make obesity a public enemy on par with smoking. But too many people—many medical professionals included—want an easy solution… and their heads remain in the sand.  

So, I’ll keep screaming from the rooftops until the rest of the world comes around. Because obesity is a very serious health threat.  

And today, I want to share yet another new study that underscores that fact—one that men, in particular, need to pay close attention to… 

Big waist, high risk 

After reviewing data collected in Montreal between 2005 and 2012, Quebec researchers found that abdominal obesity points directly to a higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer.  

Of course, this study highlights a point that I’ve made here multiple times before—the location of your body fat can and does make a difference. In this case, risk boils down to whether your extra fat is around your waist—the classic “spare tire” look—or distributed across your whole body.   

Because, according to this study, at least: If you have more belly fat, you may be at a greater risk of aggressive prostate cancer. (The kind that can spread and kill you.)  

And with all the controversy swirling around the best way to identify and treat prostate cancer, this is a critical data point to have.  

After all, we still struggle with knowing which men need intervention, and which don’t. And we still argue the benefits of routine PSA screening. And now, we’re finding that obesity actually dilutes PSA in the blood, making your number deceptively lower—and prostate cancer detection more difficult. 

So having yet another factor to round out a man’s risk profile could help save hundreds of thousands of men from unnecessary and life-altering treatment.   

Belly fat is a different beast 

If any of these findings seem odd—or unbelievable—allow me to break it down for you further. 

Abdominal obesity in particular leads to hormonal and metabolic changes that fuel hormone-dependent cancer cells. Not only that, but it can lower testosterone and promote chronic inflammation, both of which have a hand in the development of aggressive tumors.   

This is true for men and women. In fact, when I have women patients with very high inflammatory markers, often times the only thing I can find “wrong” with them is that their fat is mostly in their belly (rather than, say, their hips or thighs). 

The truth of the matter is that visceral (belly) fat is a different—and more deadly—beast (as it surrounds the organs) than pesky subcutaneous fat, which lies just under the skin. And pardon the pun, but this latest study just adds more weight to that fact.  

Plus, while prostate cancer may be fairly simple to treat in most cases, let’s not forget that it’s also the most common form of cancer in men next to skin cancer. As such, it remains one of their leading causes of death. 

But keeping your waist trim could help save your life—and that’s true regardless of your gender, or even your size. In fact, I go into even more detail about the dangers of visceral fat to everyone in the October 2017 issue of my monthly newsletter, Logical Health Alternatives (“The deadly ‘hidden fat’ even thin people need to worry about”). Subscribers have access to that article in the archives—and more. So if you haven’t already, consider signing up today.    

Source: 

“Prostate cancer linked to obesity.” EurekAlert, 06/10/21. (eurekalert.org/news-releases/879932)