
You know how I always tell you that obesity is a disease that leads to other diseases… including cancer?
Well, now you don’t have to just take my word for it.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 684,000 Americans are diagnosed with an obesity-related cancer every year.
Let’s talk about it…
The “biggest” risk factor of all?
I don’t know how anyone is perplexed as to why cancer rates are skyrocketing among younger generations.
Just look at our obesity rates—plus, all the chemicals in our food supply.
But apparently, that’s not proof enough. Which is why the medical establishment drives me nuts…
See, it’s a lot harder to draw a direct line between obesity and cancer than it is with other risk factors, like tobacco. And sure, people often develop cancer regardless of weight—I get that.
BUT… excess body weight can contribute to cancer virtually anywhere in the body.
Isn’t that enough cause for concern? Especially when 42 percent of U.S. adults are carrying excess weight, as well as 20 percent of children and teenagers.
Not to mention, nearly a decade ago, a report was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that analyzed over 1,000 studies on body fat and cancer.
They tied over a dozen cancers—including some of the most common and lethal types—to excess body weight. Such as esophageal, adenocarcinoma, endometrial, kidney, liver, stomach, pancreatic, colorectal, postmenopausal breast, gallbladder, ovarian, and thyroid cancers—as well as myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells) and meningioma (tumor).
Researchers also found “limited” evidence that linked excess weight to aggressive prostate cancer and certain head and neck cancers.
Eye-opening truths
Let’s take a quick step back: Does poor diet, lack of exercise, and metabolic conditions (like Type 2 diabetes) lead to many of these same cancers? Yes.
But the fix is the same regardless of whether the chicken or the egg came first, no?
We know that obesity causes chronic systemic inflammation, which can promote the growth and spread of tumor cells.
I see this every day in my practice through routine blood testing. (Learn more about all the life-saving tests you SHOULD be getting, but probably aren’t, in my Ultimate Screening Protocol. Click here now to access this brand-new, comprehensive learning tool!)
Plus, excess body weight might alter hormone levels in ways that spur tumor growth, especially in those with hormonally driven cancers (like breast). And those who are overweight or obese from age 20 into middle-age have a higher risk of developing colorectal and gastrointestinal cancers after age 55.
Moreover, an analysis from the Nurses’ Health Study II found that obese women have double that risk for early-onset colorectal cancer compared to those with a normal body mass index (BMI).
A 2020 analysis also shows that women 50 years and older who lost as little as 4.4 to 10 pounds—and kept it off for a decade—had a lower risk for breast cancer than women whose weight remaining stable. And losing more weight translated to greater cancer protection.
Folks, I could go on here. But don’t you wish these facts were more common knowledge? Don’t you think it would incentivize more people to shed and keep off even just a few pounds?
I’m not sure when obesity became so fashionable. But just remember, while it’s always important to feel comfortable and confident in your skin… carrying excess pounds will always be detrimental to your health—cancer, or no cancer.
For a few simple, science-based strategies to fight cancer, in addition to losing weight, check out my Essential Cancer Protocol.
Source:
“Obesity and Cancer: Untangling a Complex Web.” Medscape, 05/28/2024. (medscape.com/viewarticle/obesity-and-cancer-untangling-complex-web-2024a10009zi)