Obesity and Cancer Risk

Projection of the future health and economic burden of obesity

Key Points

• During the past several decades, the percentage of overweight and obese adults and children has increased markedly.

• Obesity is associated with increased risks of cancers of the esophagus, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), colon and rectum, kidney, pancreas, thyroid, gallbladder, and possibly other cancer types.

• Obese people are also at higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and a number of other chronic diseases.

What is obesity?

Obesity is a condition in which a person has an abnormally high and unhealthy proportion of body fat. To measure obesity, researchers commonly use a scale known as the body mass index (BMI). BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by their height (in meters) squared. Guidelines established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) place adults age 20 and older into the following categories based on their BMI:

BMI BMI Categories

Below 18.5 Underweight

18.5 to 24.9 Normal

25.0 to 29.9 Overweight

30.0 and above Obese

How common is Obesity and Cancer?

A projection of the future health and economic burden of obesity in 2030 estimated that continuation of existing trends in obesity will lead to about 500,000 additional cases of cancer in the United States by 2030. Several possible mechanisms have been suggested to explain the association of obesity with increased risk of certain cancers:

o Fat tissue produces excess amounts of estrogen, high levels of which have been associated with the risk of breast, endometrial, and some other cancers.

o Obese people often have increased levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in their blood (a condition known as hyperinsulinemia or insulin resistance), which may promote the development of certain tumors.

o Obese people often have chronic low-level, or "subacute," inflammation, which has been associated with increased cancer risk.

Relationship between Obesity and Breast

Cancer

Many studies have shown that overweight and obesity are associated with a modest increase in risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. This higher risk is seen mainly in women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and for tumors that express both estrogen and progesterone receptors. The relationship between obesity and breast cancer may be affected by the stage of life in which a woman gains weight and becomes obese.

The increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer is thought to be due to increased levels of estrogen in obese women. After menopause, when the ovaries stop producing hormones, fat tissue becomes the most important source of estrogen. Because obese women have more fat tissue, their estrogen levels are higher, potentially leading to more rapid growth of estrogen-responsive breast tumors.

Cardio-Pulmonary Physician

For the last seven years, Dr. Jimenez has served as Chief of the Cardiopulmonary and Preoperative program at Obesity Control Center® where he helps to prevent complications in obese patients at high risk.

A graduate of the University of Guadalajara School of Medicine, Dr. Jimenez was certified as a medical surgeon in 1990. His subspecialty is Internal Medicine and Critical Care and was Board Certified in Intensive Care Medicine in 1995. After serving as the Chief of the Intensive Care Department at Excel Hospital, he launched out as a pioneer and collaborator in the field of cardiac surgery and served as a Head of Cardiovascular Postoperative Care Service.

Throughout his 14-year career, he has been both founder and partner in a wide range of groups that have developed programs for cardiac surgery.

Since 2002, he is a collaborator and doctor in the Intensive Care Unit of Mexico's government hospital. This unit manages patients with renal transplants as well as dealing with trauma and coronary issues. Dr. Jimenez also serves as a professor for the continuing education medical program in medical internship and medical residency in the area of emergencies and general surgery.

For the last 10 years, he has been working on investigating degenerative diseases in the area of Oncology, implementing a new program of immunotherapy. Currently he is an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Chest Physicians and the European Society of Intensive Care. He is a certified instructor in Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) with the Society of Critical Care.

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