Cancer and obesity

The link between cancer and obesity

Obesity is a complex disease that drags with its life-threatening diseases. Among the difficult diseases caused by obesity, there is also cancer. Much scientific evidence is accumulating in the medical world that fat people have a higher chance of developing various types of cancer: colon, kidney, esophagus, stomach, uterus, breast, pancreas, urine bladder and more.

Studies on the link between cancer and obesity

Studies have even shown that in the US, for example, about 15-20% of all cancer deaths in the US are a result of obesity.

According to the cancer association, overweight, high fat diet, high-calorie consumption, and low physical activity might increase the risk for various cancers, so the awareness among overweight people for the link and health risk between Cancer and obesity is important.

In the largest and most comprehensive study in the field of bariatric surgeries, started in 1987 in Sweden and a follow-up of the patients for up to 20 years, the results of cancer morbidity after bariatric surgeries have been reviewed.

The study included 2037 fat patients who didn’t undergo bariatric surgery and 2010 patients who underwent different types of surgeries, among which gastric bypass and adjusted gastric banding surgery.

The result of the study for the link between cancer and obesity

The incredible result of the study has shown that the most common cause of death among all participants was cancer – 76 cases of death from cancer versus 38 cases from cardiac arrest, for example.

Overall, the number of new patients who developed cancer since the start of the study was 169 in the group without surgery compared to 117 in the group with surgery (a 30% reduction in mortality). Women were mostly in the reduction of morbidity, with 79 new patients in the group with surgery compared to 130 in the group without surgery.

Among men, there were hardly any differences in the occurrence of the diseases between the groups (38 versus 39 new cases between the groups with and without surgery respectively).

To summarize, the cancer disease is a difficult and life-threatening disease. The link between it and obesity is familiar, known and has been scientifically proven for years. There is great importance to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, losing weight and avoiding situations of obesity, as part of reducing morbidity and mortality from cancer as well. For further reading on obesity.

At the Herzliya Medical Center hospital, only expert bariatric surgeons with lots of experience in the field operate. The surgeon is personally in charge of the treatment from the moment a decision to operate is made, during the surgery and hospitalization and throughout the follow-up after it. During the hospitalization, the surgeon personally makes all treatment decisions, 24 hours a day.