Overweight over ten years increases the risk of cancer according to a study

Obesity and obesity increase the risk of certain cancers
It has been known for a long time that overweight is not good for our health. Obesity and obesity, for example, have been linked to the development of cancer. But how does it affect our cancer risk if we are overweight for years? A long-term study of nearly 74,000 postmenopausal women has now shown that women can increase their risk of developing cancers by up to seven percent for every decade of obesity.

Obesity and obesity can increase the risk of some cancers. An international team of scientists now found in an investigation that women increase their cancer risk by seven percent if they are overweight over a period of ten years. The physicians published the results of their long-term study now in the journal "PLOS Medicine".

Overweight damages your health. Especially women should pay attention to a healthy body weight. Obesity causes a massive increase in cancer risk in women. Every ten years that a woman is overweight, the risk of cancer increases by about seven percent. (Image: esolla / fotolia.com)

Study examines association between BMI and cancer risk
This is the first study specifically examining the relationship between obesity duration or obesity and cancer risk in women, said lead author Melina Arnold of WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer. For their study, the researchers analyzed the data from a long-term national health study. This examined the exposure-response relationship between time with a high body mass index (BMI) and the risk for various cancers. Too high BMI or overweight harm our body. For example, overweight can massively increase the risk of multiple sclerosis and cause other health problems.

Overweight costs lifetime
The BMI used for the study is a measure of the weight of a person's body relative to height. It is used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide a rough guide to healthy weight, researchers say. Obesity should generally be avoided to avoid unnecessary diseases. Another study found out that obesity can cost us ten years in total.

There are more and more overweight and obese people worldwide
The analyzed data came from the investigations of twelve years. During that time, 6,301 of the total of 73,913 women were diagnosed with cancer associated with obesity, the researchers explain. These include, for example, breast and colon cancer, but also cancers of the rectum and the endometrium. Unfortunately, there are more and more obese men and women, even many first-grade students are overweight.

Various factors were taken into account by the experts
The research team led by Melina Arnold, a researcher at WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, also considered other factors related to obesity. These included, for example, physical activity, diet, smoking, hormone intake and diabetes, says the doctor.

Heavy obesity massively increases the risk of some cancers
The results clearly show that every ten years that a woman is overweight increases the risk of all cancers associated with obesity by up to seven percent, says Arnold. The risk of postmenopausal breast cancer increased by five percent. The probability of developing a so-called endometrial carcinoma even increased by 17 percent. In severe overweight, the values ​​for postmenopausal breast cancer increased to eight percent and 37 percent for the development of endometrial cancer.

Study results are biologically plausible
The results are quite biologically plausible. Early and prolonged periods of overweight and obesity increase the risk and severity of conditions such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, DNA damage, and changes in hormone metabolism. These are all key mechanisms that also increase your risk for cancer, explains the author.

Degree of excess weight also has a high impact
We have shown in our study that the risk of developing these cancers is not only dependent on the duration of the overweight. Also, the degree of overweight over time is significant. For this reason, it is difficult to make a general statement about how much the overall cancer risk increases each year with overweight or obesity, Arnold says.

Overweight a risk regardless of the age of those affected
Physicians should consider the potential of healthy body weight in cancer prevention. Obesity in women has a major impact on the likelihood of developing cancer, regardless of the age of the patient, the study authors explain. (As)