Obese women 40% more likely of getting weight-related cancer

Obese women have around a 40 per cent greater risk of developing a weight-related cancer in their lifetime than women of a healthy weight, according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK. Obesity increases a woman’s risk of developing at least seven types of cancer including bowel, post-menopausal breast, gallbladder, womb, kidney, pancreatic and oesophageal cancer. The new statistics find that obese women have around a one in four risk of developing a cancer linked to weight in their lifetime.

“Losing weight isn’t easy, but you don’t have to join a gym and run miles every day or give up your favourite food forever. Just making small changes that you can maintain in the long term can have a real impact,” said Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK. “To get started try getting off the bus a stop earlier and cutting down on fatty and sugary foods. Losing weight takes time so gradually build on these to achieve a healthier lifestyle that you can maintain. And find out about local services, which can provide help and support to make lifestyle changes over the long term.

In a group of 1,000 obese women, 274 will be diagnosed with a bodyweight-linked cancer in their lifetime, compared to 194 women diagnosed in a group of 1,000 healthy weight women. Approximately a quarter of UK women are obese which puts them at a greater risk of cancer. There are different ways that obesity could increase the risk of cancer, and one possibility is that it is linked to a fat cell’s production of hormones, especially oestrogen. This hormone is thought to fuel the development of cancer.

“We know that our cancer risk depends on a combination of our genes, our environment and other aspects of our lives, many of which we can control – helping people understand how they can reduce their risk of developing cancer in the first place remains crucial in tackling the disease,” she added. “Lifestyle changes – like not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and cutting back on alcohol – are the big opportunities for us all to personally reduce our cancer risk. Making these changes is not a guarantee against cancer, but it stacks the odds in our favour.”

The following* shows the increased lifetime cancer risk for obese women by cancer type, compared with women of a healthy weight:

• Breast cancer (postmenopausal) 25%
• Pancreas cancer 31%
• Bowel cancer 32%
• Kidney cancer 78%
• Gallbladder cancer 100%
• Uterus (endometrium) cancer 131%
• Esophageal cancer 133%