06 Oct 13 types of cancer associated with obesity

Obesity (BMI of 30 or greater) is linked with a higher risk of developing 13 different types of cancer. There is evidence to support a strong relationship between weight loss and cancer risk reduction. Obese individuals who have undergone bariatric surgery to aid in weight loss appear to have a lower risk of obesity-related cancers when compared to obese individuals who have not had bariatric surgery

1. Endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus): Obese/overweight women are 2 to 4 times as likely to develop endometrial cancer. Extremely
   obese women are about 7 times as likely to develop this cancer. The risk increases with weight gain in adulthood, particularly among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy.
2. Esophageal adenocarcinoma (cancer of the esophagus): People who are overweight/obese are 2 times as likely to develop this cancer and people who are extremely obese are more than four times as likely.
3. Gastric cardia cancer (cancer of the upper part of the stomach): People who are obese are nearly 2 times as likely as a person with a normal weight to develop cancer in the part of the stomach that is closest to the esophagus.
4. Liver cancer: People who are overweight or obese are up to 2 times as likely as a person of normal weight to develop liver cancer. The association between overweight/obesity and liver cancer is stronger in men than in women.
5. Kidney cancer: Individuals who are overweight/obese are nearly 2 times as likely as someone of a normal weight to develop renal cell cancer, the most common form of kidney cancer.
6. Multiple myeloma (A cancer of plasma cells): Compared with individuals with a normal weight, overweight/obese individuals have a slight (10-20%) increase in the risk of developing multiple myeloma.
7. Meningioma: The risk of this slow-growing brain tumor that arises in the membranes surrounding the brain and the spinal cord is increased by about 20% in individuals who are overweight and 50% in people who are obese.
8. Pancreatic cancer: People who are overweight/obese are about 1.5 times as likely to develop pancreatic cancer as normal-weight people.
9. Colorectal cancer: People who are obese are about 30% more likely to develop colorectal cancer than an individual with a normal weight. A higher BMI is associated with increased risks of colon and rectal cancers in both men and in women, but the increases are higher for men than women.
10. Gallbladder cancer: People who are overweight have about a 20% increase in risk of gallbladder cancer, and people who are obese have a 60% increase in risk of gallbladder cancer with the risk increase being greater in women than men.
11. Breast cancer: Many studies have shown that, in postmenopausal women, a higher BMI is associated with a modest increase in risk of breast cancer. Among postmenopausal women, those who are obese have a 20% to 40% increase in risk of developing breast cancer compared with women of a normal weight. The higher risks are seen mainly in women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy and for tumors that express hormone receptors. Obesity is also a risk factor for breast cancer in men.
12. Ovarian cancer: Higher BMI is associated with a slight increase in the risk of ovarian cancer, particularly in women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy. For example, a 5-unit increase in BMI is associated with a 10% increase in risk among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy.
13. Thyroid cancer: Higher BMI (specifically, a 5-unit increase in BMI) is associated with a 10% increase in the risk of thyroid cancer.

To learn more about the link between obesity and cancer, and the associated research, check out: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/obesity/obesity-fact-sheet