Khaberni - A new study has revealed that obesity may be linked to more cancer cases than previously believed.
The study, which was prepared by a research team in Germany and published in "JAMA Oncology" after analyzing data from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, including more than 458,000 people from the UK Biobank medical database, found that obesity was responsible for 7.2% of digestive system cancers diagnosed within four years of weight measurement, but increased to 17.7% for cases diagnosed after more than four years, suggesting that the relationship between obesity and cancer might be greater than expected, as people with undiagnosed cancer might lose weight before diagnosis.
In Germany, it was found that prolonged exposure to increased weight is linked to a 55% greater risk of bowel cancer compared to body mass index alone in more than 10,000 studied individuals. In Sweden, data showed that men with larger waist circumferences had a 25% higher risk of obesity-related cancers compared to a 19% increase linked to body mass index, indicating that abdominal fat might be a better indicator of risk in men.
The findings indicated that the cancer risk begins to increase even when the body mass index is less than 25, which means that the current threshold for the "overweight" category may overlook some people at risk.
The researchers proposed a new framework for prevention that considers weight loss before diagnosis, relies on lifetime weight, uses waist circumference alongside body mass index, and acknowledges that risk can begin before the current thresholds.
The researchers pointed out that managing obesity represents a powerful preventative strategy against cancer that has not been sufficiently exploited, emphasizing the necessity of integrating obesity prevention efforts into public health systems.
Although the study was observational and does not directly prove cause and effect, it underscores that controlling obesity and losing weight could have a significant impact on reducing cancer risk and that investing in prevention and treatment promises substantial health returns.
