Fourteen years ago, a study linked certain cancers to obesity. That somewhat casual link is now supported by more scientific evidence.
Specifically, the latest assessment published by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) adds eight more cancers to the list that have a high probability of being avoided by reducing body fat.
The highest risk cancer for obese individuals is cancer in the uterus and esophagus adenocarcinoma. Others include colon and rectal cancer, stomach, kidney or renal cell carcinoma, gastric, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, ovary and thyroid and well as blood cancer, multiple myeloma and meningioma that affects the tissue surrounding the brain and spine.
Overweight adults are defined in the study as those with body mass indexes (BMI) of 25.0 to 29.9. Obesity is above 30.0.
Clearly, we should consider obesity as a threat to our health for many reasons, and now we can add cancer to that list. Healthy sustained eating habits far outweigh crash diets. Start today!