WUNRN
UN News Centre:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=49453#.VHYfr3l0xMs
Lancet Publication of Study Summary:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2814%2971123-4/abstract
OBESITY-RELATED CANCERS ON THE RISE, ESPECIALLY IN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES – MORE FOR WOMEN – UN WHO REPORT
The study also highlights that the
proportion of cancers related to obesity is higher in women than in men, with
population-attributable fractions of 5.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent,
respectively.
A healthy diet can help to alleviate risk factors for a
range of chronic diseases linked to obesity.
26 November 2014 – Being overweight or
obese have become major risk factors for developing cancer, particularly among
women and in more developed countries, the specialized cancer agency of the
United Nations World Health Organization (WHO)
reported today.
Overweight and obesity are responsible for
an estimated 481,000 – or 3.6 per cent – of all new cancer cases in 2012, and
reducing such health issues at the population level could have significant
health benefits, according to a new study by the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC).
The study, which was published
in The Lancet Oncology today, also shows that one quarter of all cancers
attributable to overweight and obesity worldwide – 118,00 cases – could have
been prevented if populations had simply maintained their average body-mass
index of 30 years ago.
“The number of cancers linked to obesity
and overweight is expected to rise globally along with economic development,”
Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC, said in a press release
today.
“This study stresses the importance of
putting in place efficient weight control measures, to curb the high number of
cancers associated with excess body weight and to avoid the problems faced by
rich countries being repeated in those now undergoing rapid development,” he
added.
Cancer due to overweight and obesity is
currently far more common in more developed countries – which reported 393,000
cases, or 5.2 per cent of all new cancer cases – than in less developed
countries – which reported 88,000 cases, or 1.5 per cent of all new cancer
cases.
North America remains the most affected,
with an estimated 111,000 obesity-related cancers in 2012, accounting for 23
per cent of the total global cancer burden linked to high body-mass index, the
agency said.
In Europe, the proportion of cancers due to
overweight and obesity is also large, particularly in eastern Europe – which
reported 65,000 cases, or 6.5 per cent of all new cancer cases in the region,
according to the study.
Overall, the countries with the highest
cancer burden attributable to overweight and obesity in men are the Czech
Republic (5.5 per cent of the country’s new cancer cases); Jordan (4.5 per
cent); the United Kingdom (4.4 per cent); and Malta (4.4 per cent).
Among women, Barbados (12.7 per cent), the
Czech Republic (12.0 per cent) and Puerto Rico (11.6 per cent) are most
affected. In the United States – one of the largest contributors of global
cancers associated with high body-mass index – 3.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent of
the country’s new cancer cases are linked to excess body weight in men and
women, respectively.
Although in most Asian countries the
proportion of cancers associated with overweight and obesity is not large, it
still translates into a considerable absolute number of cases due to the large
population size, the study noted.
For example, in China, about 50,000 cancer
cases in women and men are associated with overweight and obesity, accounting
for 1.6 per cent of the country’s new cancer cases, according to the study.
In contrast, the contribution of overweight
and obesity to cancer burden remains low in Africa – which had 7,300 cases, or
1.5 per cent of all new cancer cases in the continent.
“Overall, we see that while the number of
cancer cases associated with overweight and obesity remains highest in richer
countries, similar effects are already visible in parts of the developing
world,” said Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, one of the study’s lead authors and
the project’s principal investigator.
A high body-mass index is a known risk
factor for cancers of the oesophagus, colon, rectum, kidney, pancreas, gall
bladder, postmenopausal breast, ovary and endometrium, as well as for other
non-communicable diseases, notably cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
A body-mass index is a measure of body fat
that is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the square of the
height in metres.
The study also highlights that the
proportion of cancers related to obesity is higher in women than in men, with
population-attributable fractions of 5.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent,
respectively.
“Women are disproportionately affected by
obesity-related cancers,” said IARC’s Dr. Melina Arnold, one of the study’s
lead authors.
“For example, for postmenopausal breast
cancer, the most common cancer in women worldwide, the study suggests that 10
per cent of these cancers could have been prevented by having a healthy body
weight.”