Dangers of Obesity and its link to Cancer

For the purpose of reading this article, overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) between 25 to 29.9 and obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or over.

A staggering new report released in the United Kingdom calls on the Government of Great Britain to take more action to tackle obesity after it predicts that obesity could cause over 700,000 cases of cancer by 2035.

The report compiles a list of 10 possible cancers that “could be caused by being overweight or obese”. These 10 include: Oesophagus, Breast, Gallbladder, Liver, Pancreas, Kidney, Bowel, and Womb. On top of this, the report predicts that almost 3 in 4 adults will be overweight or obese by 2035 and “over the next 20 years rising levels of obesity would lead to an additional 670,000 cases of cancer”.

Not only does this place an economic burden on the State, it is also a strong indicator that the overweight and obese should tackle their weight in order to prevent possibly suffering from cancer.

The report, while showing the link between cancer and obesity, further adds that by reducing weight in the UK, it would not only avoid cases of cancer but also of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and strokes. “In 2035 alone, around 440,000 new cases of disease would be attributable to overweight and obesity in the UK. This includes around 257,200 new cases of type 2 diabetes”. Moreover, if the levels of obesity continue to rise over the next 20 years, the report suggests that this could lead to 4.62 million cases of type 2 diabetes, 1.63 million cases of coronary heart disease, and 670,000 new cases of cancer.

It is therefore vital that the issues of being overweight or obese are tackled for multiple health reasons, such as reducing the risk of cancer and multiple types of diseases.

REF: Being overweight or obese could cause around 700,000 new UK cancers by 2035

Date of Report: 07 January 2016