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Overweight and obesity are among the risk factors associated with many chronic diseases, but a study reveals that they could play a role in the development of 17 cancers, starting in late adolescence. Exclusively carried out among men, this work demonstrates the importance of taking new actions to combat a sedentary lifestyle as cases of obesity continue to increase throughout the world.
“Nearly two-thirds of adults and one in three children in the WHO European Region are overweight or obese, and these rates continue to rise“, alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) in a report presented in 2022. The authority went so far as to warn that “obesity could dethrone smoking as the main preventable cancer risk” in the coming decades, estimating the number of cancers linked to obesity at thirteen. A major public health problem that the world body intends to prevent by “establishing[ant] healthy environments”. In other words, which involves the fight against a sedentary lifestyle, particularly induced by the event of screens, through a healthy and balanced diet, and an increase in physical activity.
A new study carried out by researchers at the University of Gothenburg confirms the role of obesity, and more generally of a high body mass index (BMI), on health, and in particular on the risk of cancer. The analyzes relate to no less than 1.4 million men who took the conscription exam between 1968 and 2005, when they were aged 16 to 25, of whom nearly 80,000 developed cancer during their service. an average follow-up of 31 years. Published in Obesity magazinethis research suggests that a high BMI at the age of 18, at the end of adolescence, would be linked to an increased risk of several cancers in adulthood, more than having a poor physical condition at this young age.
“Being overweight and obese at a young age appears to increase the risk of developing cancer, and we see this association in almost all organs. Considering the alarming trend of increasing obesity in childhood and adolescence, this study reinforces the need to deploy significant resources to reverse this trend.“, explains Aron Onerup of the University of Gothenburg, and lead author of the study, in a press release. During this work, researchers observed a higher risk of cancers of the lung, head, neck, brain, thyroid, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, colon, rectum, kidney, bladder, but also melanoma, leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma in participants with a high BMI at the age of 18 on average. Note that a BMI greater than 25 was considered high – including overweight and obesity.
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Three to four times more risk
The researchers specify that this association was even stronger for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and kidney, reporting a three to four times higher risk for obese men at the age of 18. It should be noted, however, that a BMI considered normal, namely between 20 and 22.4, was also associated with a high risk of cancers of the head, neck, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, melanoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A surprising finding that the scientists explain by the fact that “the current definition of normal weight may apply mainly to older adults, while the optimal weight of a young adult is probably in a lower range”. As for prostate cancer, the risk was higher in participants who were neither overweight nor obese.
“In 30 years, researchers expect an increase in the proportion of cancer cases linked to overweight and obesity among young people, calculated based on overweight and obesity among 18-year-old men in Sweden Today. For stomach cancer, the proportion increases to 32% and for esophageal cancer to 37%. Given the current prevalence of overweight and obesity among young people in the United States, more than one in two cases of these cancers could be linked to high BMI in late adolescence 30 years from now“, concludes the study.