Extra weight increases risk of cancer

Obesity has always been a cause of many types of diseases but this time a European research analysis has linked it to an increased risk of cancer. It is for the first time that obesity has been linked to even some of the less common forms of the disease.

The study suggests that obesity increases chances of cancer of the esophagus, thyroid, kidney, uterus, gall bladder and colon and breast cancers. The suggestions are not definite and the proof of the link is yet to be found it.

The findings come after a major report from the World Research Cancer Fund in October showed that excess body fat was likely to cause some cancers, said Andrew Renehan, the study's lead author and senior lecturer at the School of Cancer Studies at the University of Manchester.

Researchers believe that the presence of excess fat cells could affect the levels of hormones in your body. At a cellular level, this may increase the development of tumors in humans.

The data was collected from 141 studies and considered the impact of weight on 15 cancer sites on more diverse populations than any previous study. The researchers studied more than 280,000 cases from North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

The cases were observed for about nine to 15 years for both overweight and normal weight patients. Researchers tracked the body mass index, or BMI of the under study cases, and correlated it with incidents of cancer.

BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared

In men, the risk of esophageal cancer increased by 52 percent, that of thyroid cancer by 33 percent, and colon and kidney cancers each by 24 percent with an average weight gain of 33 pounds.

In women, a weight gain of 29 pounds increased the risk of cancer in the uterus and gall bladder by almost 60 percent, esophagus by 51 percent and kidney by 34 percent, said the researchers.

However, being overweight was not associated with an increase in risk for prostate cancer in men, premenopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer in women, and lung cancer in both men and women.

"To make the link between cause and effect, we need to tick several boxes. This study begins to tick the first two or three boxes, but more research is needed to confirm it," said Dr. Renehan.

So, the conclusion can be- if you want to stay free from cancer, try to stay fit and if you have any extra pounds, loose them.

According to the American Cancer Society, 7.6 million people died last year because of cancer.