Scientists from Germany this week drew attention to the fact that obesity may be linked to more cancers than previously thought. According to their research, weight loss can also be one of the most effective forms of cancer prevention.
In a study published in the journal JAMA Oncology, a team of scientists from Germany analyzed data from Great Britain, Germany and Sweden. An analysis of 458,660 people in the UK Biobank database found obesity was associated with 7.2 per cent of digestive tract cancers diagnosed within four years of weight measurement. For cases diagnosed after more than four years, this proportion rose to 17.7 percent.
According to the authors, this suggests that the association between obesity and cancer may be significantly underestimated, among other things, because people with a so far undiagnosed disease can lose weight.
Another analysis of more than 10,000 people from Germany found that long-term overweight was associated with bowel cancer risk more strongly than BMI alone, increasing it by fifty-five percent. Data from more than 339,000 people in Sweden found that men with larger waist circumferences had a twenty-five percent higher risk of obesity-related cancers. Research also indicates that the risk begins to increase already at BMI values below 25. The authors therefore emphasize the importance of obesity prevention as prevention of cancer.
