Did you know we have a support group?
Your questions and concerns have most likely been asked and answered in our support group. Moderated by our dietitians, nurses, and staff. We provide you with reliable patient education and resources to help you throughout this life-changing process.
Obesity Linked to Greater Risk of Developing Certain Cancers
According to the American Centre of Disease Control (CDC) Newsroom, there is a strong link between being overweight or obese and cancer. In fact, these recent CDC findings link as many as 13 different types of cancer to obesity. While the rate of newly developed cancers has slowed down since the 1990s, obesity-related cancers are slowing down this rate.
Overweight and Obesity-Related Cancers
The main cancers associated with being overweight or obese are: meningioma, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, multiple myeloma (blood cell cancer), and cancers of the thyroid, breast, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, ovaries, uterus, pancreas, colon and rectum, and upper stomach. The rate at which people are developing obesity-related cancers in the United States has risen by 7% since 2005.
Obesity in America
In 2014, over 600 thousand people were treated for overweight and obesity-related cancer in the United States. Two-thirds of these patients were between 50 and 74. Since two out of three Americans are considered overweight or obese (according to their body mass index), this has led to a global concern for the American people, especially since it seems as if not many Americans are aware that being overweight can pose a greater risk of developing cancer.
Lower Your Risk
From a healthcare perspective, more needs to be done to spread awareness about these types of cancers, to encourage patients to exercise and eat right, and to make healthy foods available to all demographics. Over half the cancer diagnoses in women and almost a quarter of the diagnoses in men were related to being overweight or obese. That staggering figure demonstrates the absolute need for overweight and obese people to make major life changes. Losing weight and reducing your BMI into a normal range will significantly lower your risk.
However, sometimes eating right and increasing your exercise is not enough to lose weight. If you’re morbidly obese, you may need more help. If you’re considering bariatric surgery, please feel free to fill out our patient questionnaire or to contact Clinique Michel Gagner for more information.