Exciting new evidence is emerging that indicates that
there may be an incontrovertible link between obesity and
cancer, which seems to indicate that simply loosing weight
could help prevent one out of every six cancer deaths in
the USA.
According to recently published articles, researchers
spent 16 years evaluating almost a million people who were
free of cancer when the study began 20 years ago. This
study claims to conclude that excess body weight might
account for around 14 per cent of all cancer deaths in men
and up to 20 per cent of cancer deaths in women.
According to our source information, the study was large
enough to back up a “fat connection” not only in cancers
where it had been recognized previously, but also in eight
cancers where a direct link had not been widely recognized
and/or documented. (File Source- New England Journal
of Medicine).
According to our material, earlier studies had found that
excess weight can contribute to breast cancer and cancers
of the uterus, colon, rectum, kidney, esophagus and gall
bladder. Interestingly, this latest study claims to have
identified a direct link between excess weight and
multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, ovarian cancer,
cancer of the cervix, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and,
in men, cancer of the stomach and prostate.
Our
source material went on to explain that too much body fat
can influence cancer and cancer mortality in a number of
ways. For example, excess weight can increase the amount
of estrogen in the blood, thus increasing the risk of
cancer in a woman’s reproductive system. Excess weight and
obesity can increase indigestion and associated acid
reflux disease, which can contribute directly to cancer of
the esophagus. In addition, improper diet (which induces
obesity) can significantly raise insulin levels, prompting
the body to create a hormone that can cause cells to
multiple out of control.
Another element of the study which this reporter found of
interest is the idea that obesity can make cancer harder
to diagnose and treat because early-warning lumps are
harder to feel and/or see and that some patients cannot,
physically, fit into CAT scanners. Other patients are
reported to have expressed embarrassment at regular
doctor’s appointments due to their perception of their own
physical appearance. In addition, an obese patient can
offer unfortunate challenges because they can be harder to
operate one, they often can’t fit into radiation therapy
machines and chemotherapy regimens are distorted by
excessive fat tissue.
In
discussing this study with the NightTalker Staff, we came
to the conclusion that attitudes about excess fat and
obesity must be prioritized in the same fundamental way that
society has dealt with smoking, alcoholism and excessive
drug use. Our goal with the NightTalker Show and these
articles is to help our listeners begin to start making
more intelligent eating, nutrition and health choices.
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