Obesity Linked to Increased Risk for 18 Types of Cancer, Study Warns
Being obese or overweight in early adulthood raises the risks of developing more cancers than previously thought, according to a new study that analyzed people’s health data over decades
The June 30 study, published in the National Library of Medicine, was carried out among 2.65 million individuals aged 40 and above.
Conducted in Catalonia, Spain, the subjects were free from cancer in 2009.
The research team looked at the subjects’ historical health records and followed them for nine years until 2018, after which they found that 225,396 individuals, or nine percent of the total participants, were diagnosed with one of the 26 cancers tracked in the study.
Excess body weight was found to be a risk factor for 18 cancers.
“Longer duration, greater degree, and younger age of onset of overweight and obesity during early adulthood are positively associated with risk of 18 cancers,” the study said. This includes leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Among nonsmokers, excessive weight was associated with head and neck as well as bladder cancers, which the study pointed out “are not yet considered as obesity-related cancers in the literature.”
The study provided specific results based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) of individuals. BMI is measured by dividing an individual’s weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters. It does not measure body fat directly.
Using BMI to Determine Obesity, BMI Risks
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 among adults aged 20 and above is seen as healthy. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, while a value of 30 or above is classified as obese.
In the study, individuals who had a BMI of 25 or higher for a longer period were found susceptible to 14 cancers, and people with a BMI of 30 or higher had a greater risk of stomach cancer.
“Our findings seem to indicate that longer exposures to overweight and obesity as well as developing overweight and obesity at younger ages in early adulthood might increase cancer risk,” the study said.
“This suggests that overweight and obesity prevention should start in early adulthood and that weight management and weight loss interventions leading to shorter durations of overweight and obesity might reduce cancer incidence.”
The June 30 study comes after the American Medical Association (AMA) warned against using BMI as a sole metric to determine whether an individual is overweight.
Calling BMI a “racist” measurement tool, as it was based on data from generations of non-Hispanic white populations, the AMA stressed that the relative body shape and composition of human beings differ across racial and ethnic groups, sexes, and ages.
These factors are “essential” when applying BMI, the association said. The AMA also warned that BMI must not be used as a “sole criterion” to deny any appropriate insurance reimbursement.
However, many experts see BMI as a helpful tool to predict health risks.
“The best way to think about BMI is as a risk-prediction tool,” Brad Dieter, an exercise physiologist, told Health in 2022.
“Think about it like age. Regardless of what else is going on, the older you are, the more likely you are to have a chronic health condition,” he said. “The same is true with BMI. The higher your BMI, the more at risk you are for a poor health outcome.”
The CDC reports that being obese or overweight is linked with a higher risk of developing 13 types of cancer, with these cancers making up 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed annually in the United States.
Such cancers include those that affect the breasts, uterus, colon and rectum, kidneys, ovaries, thyroid, and pancreas.
Brain Impact and Mental Disorders
The global rise in obesity likely has several causes.
A recent study published in Nature Metabolism found that the basal metabolic rate (BMR) in people in the United States and Europe has decreased over the past three decades, potentially contributing to the growing obesity epidemic in both regions.
This means the human body is burning fewer calories while at rest, leading to an overall reduction in energy expenditure.
Being obese or overweight has been linked to several other health complications.
An April 2023 study published in the International Journal of Obesity looked at how excess BMI affects brain circuits among children.
“Excess BMI in early adolescence may be associated with profound aberrant topological alterations in maturating functional circuits and underdeveloped brain structures that adversely impact core aspects of cognitive function,” the study concluded.
About one in five American children are estimated to have excess BMI.
A May 30 study published in Translational Psychiatry analyzed 9 million patients in Austria between 1997 and 2014. Researchers found links between obesity and mental disorders.
They discovered that obese patients were far more likely than nonobese patients to develop mental disorders like schizophrenia.
Younger obese men (ages 20 to 39) were found to have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder than their female counterparts.
However, this trend reversed for older obese patients (ages 40 to 79).
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