Obesity Rises Cancer Rates

Humans that are obese are prone to have negative health effects for most of their life. Those health effects can be cardiovascular issues, cancer, bone issues, etc. There is no limit to the amount of illness and severe medical issues that obesity can cause. Not being able to stay active and being under the body mass index can cause cancer. The differences between the sexes may in part be due to carcinogenic exposures and lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol, and eating fattier foods — all of which are more prevalent among men. Heart disease and weight loss are closely linked because your risk for heart disease is associated with your weight. If you are overweight or obese, you may be at higher risk for the condition. 

After researching obesity, the hypothesis that obesity and negative health effects have been one of the top three reasons for humans getting cancer is the top study listed. This study covers that weight, weight gain, and obesity account for approximately 20% of all cancer cases. Data from the past 25 years point to obesity as a cause of approximately 14% of cancer deaths in men and up to 20% of cancer deaths in women. Overweightness and obesity have increased from 15% in 1980 to 35% in 2005. The researchers for the International Agency for Research on Cancer studied and tested the rates of obesity in the majority of the common cancers. Researchers concluded that obesity was a cause of 11% of colon cancer cases, 9% of postmenopausal breast cancer cases, 39% of endometrial cancer cases, 25% of kidney cancer cases, and 37% of esophageal cancer cases. 

Obesity in children and adults has different effects on the body. Children’s cases of obesity have more than 200,000 cases per year in the United States. Usually, there are no lab tests or imaging studies. Obesity is common from ages 8-16. Obesity in children can last from months to years and genetics can increase the likelihood of being obese your whole life. Obesity in adults is more severe and there usually isn’t a way to go back. It is easier to catch obesity at a young age and change habits sooner than later. Obesity in adults is very common. There are more than 3 million cases per year in the United States. It can sometimes be treated by a medical professional. It also does not require lab tests or imaging. It can last several years if habits are caught soon enough or it can be lifelong. “Healthy behaviors include regular physical activity and healthy eating. Balancing the number of calories consumed from foods and beverages with the number of calories the body uses for activity plays a role in preventing excess weight gain(CDC).” 

Obesity in women and men has different effects on the body. Men are more likely to be more active than women. Heart disease and weight loss are closely linked because your risk for heart disease is associated with your weight. Men are more likely to recognize that being overweight causes health problems and are not distracted by the way they look. Men have roughly twice the percentage of muscle mass as women. This makes them heavier. “The nutrition transition taking place in many developing countries has also affected excess weight gain among both genders, but has had an even greater impact on the physical activity levels of women(Kanter).” Men have a higher chance of getting cancer while women are more likely to survive it. Men are 6% more likely to die from any type of cancer than women. Men are 12% more likely to die from a certain type of cancer than a woman with the same type of cancer. “A recent study suggests that the differences between the sexes may in part be due to carcinogenic exposures and lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol, and eating fattier foods — all of which are more prevalent among men(E-health).”

 Since the 2002 IARC report, new evidence has supported a cause-and-effect relation between overweight and obesity and the start of these cancers, increasing the responsibility of cancer resulting from obesity. Physical activity, body size, and metabolic efficiency are related to total energy intake. It is difficult to assess the independent effect of energy intake on cancer risk. There are sufficient pieces of evidence to support the role of physical activity in preventing cancers of the colon and breast. Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns, and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined populations. Epidemiologic evidence indicates that obesity is probably related to cancers of the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder, and aggressive prostate cancer. The body mass index can determine whether you are obese or not. Body mass index is a value derived from the mass and height of a person. The body mass index is used as a screening tool for overweight and obesity. Being overweight and obese can cause changes in the body that help lead to cancer. Some of these changes are long-lasting inflammation and higher than normal levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor, and sex hormones. The risk of cancer increases with the more excess weight a person gains and the longer a person is overweight. 

Studies have shown that with improved cancer survivorship, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other noncancer events compete with cancer as the underlying cause of death, but the risks of mortality in competing-risk settings have not been well characterized. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of conditions that involve the heart and blood vessels. CVD deaths are varied by first cancer site, indicating increased risks after the first diagnosis of lung cancer, hematologic malignancy, and urinary tract cancer. For individuals with all cancers combined, CVD was the leading cause of competing mortality in both male and female patients with cancer. CVD can be caused by obesity. Men are more likely to be more active than women. Heart disease and weight loss are closely linked because your risk for heart disease is associated with your weight. If you are overweight or obese, you may be at higher risk for the condition. Medical experts consider obesity and being overweight to be major risk factors for both coronary heart disease and heart attack.

Obesity is one of the leading factors in cancer. What we do with our body, what we put in our body, what we do in a day are all leading causes of cancer. Obesity has different effects in men and women, children and adults, and healthy and unhealthy people. The different causes for each person have a different effect on how long and how healthy a person can live. Obesity is dangerous but it is usually avoidable and can be maintained if help is reached before it is too late. Bad habits need to be stopped before they reach this level and you can not undo it. 

References

How cancer affects men and women differently. (n.d.). http://Www.eehealth.org. https://www.eehealth.org/blog/2017/11/how-cancer-affects-men-and-women-differently/

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/obesity/index.htm