Weight that is higher than what is considered a healthy weight for a given height is called overweight or obesity.Body mass index (BMI) is used as a screening tool for overweight and obesity. For adults, a person with a BMI from 25.0 to 29.9 is considered overweight. A person with a BMI that is 30.0 or higher has obesity.
More than 650,000 obesity-associated cancers occur in the United States each year, including more than 200,000 among men and 450,000 among women.
Breast cancer after menopause is the most common obesity-associated cancer among women. Colorectal cancer is the most common obesity-associated cancer among men.
More than 90% of new obesity-related cancers occur in men and women who are 50 years old or older.
Extra fat in the body doesn’t just sit there, its active, sending out signals to the rest of your body. These signals can tell cells in our body to divide more often, which can lead to cancer.
Obesity is an exaggeration of normal adiposity and is a central player in the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, largely due to its secretion of excessive adipokines. Obesity is a major contributor to the metabolic dysfunction involving lipid and glucose, but on a broader scale, it influences organ dysfunction involving cardiac, liver, intestinal, pulmonary, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
Obesity contributes to immune dysfunction from the effects of its inflammatory adipokine secretion and is a major risk factor for different types of cancer. Cancer-promoting factors enhanced by estrogenization occur in breast, endometrial, ovarian, and prostate cancers, whereas increased leptin levels have been found in renal, esophageal, and hepatocellular carcinomas
Hyperinsulinemia is a risk factor for colon cancer in obese patients. The combined effects of diabetes, insulin resistance, and increased body-mass index (BMI) all contribute to the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer.
Testosterone itself is a key prostate growth factor that may enhance cellular proliferation and enzymatic conversion of testosterone to estradiol within cells of benign prostatic hypertrophy caused them to dedifferentiate into prostate cancer cells.
Hepatocellular cancer is also linked to the associated comorbidity of fatty liver in obesity, which, after progressing from steatonecrosis to cirrhosis, becomes a risk factor for hepatocellular cancer. High leptin levels are also found in these obese patients and may be a growth-promoting factor for this cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is linked to obesity as a result of associated inflammatory adipokines, which not only upset glucose transport, causing insulin resistance, but combined with hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, and lipotoxicity, all lead to pancreatic β-cell inflammation and their exhaustion. The pancreatic dysplasia resulting from chronic inflammation associated with chronic pancreatitis promotes progression to pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
The chronic inflammatory state related to the chronic esophageal acid reflux common in obesity results in Barrett esophagus, whose pathologic hallmark is intestinal metaplasia., enhance the progression of metaplasia to high-grade dysplasia, the premalignant precursor to esophageal carcinoma. Further complications of visceral adiposity include hiatal hernial formation and its associated decreased esophageal sphincter function, which, with increased abdominal pressure from visceral adiposity, further enhances gastric reflex and inflammation.
Behavioral interventions starting from children , to help them lose weight in several ways. Initial diagnosis is made by measuring patients’ weight, height, and BMI. Encourage adult patients to participate in behavioral interventions recommended .The NHS recommends trying to lose weight if your BMI is above 25 or your waist circumference is over 94cm (men) or 80cm (women).
These interventions are designed to help patients lose 5% or more of their weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity.
Counselling is done to explain that keeping a healthy weight can lower a person’s cancer risk and connect patients and families with community services that provide healthy food and ways to be active.
