Carrying excess weight has long been linked with problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease – but now it seems also to affect the likelihood of developing certain cancers.
A study published last week in The Lancet, examined data from 5.24 million UK adults, and indicated that over 12,000 cases of some of the most common cancers can be directly attributed to high body mass indices. If average BMIs continue to rise, the authors estimate that there could be over 3,500 extra cancers in the UK per year.
There was wide variation amongst the majority of cancers, which did show an increase with higher BMIs. Uterine cancer showed the most dramatic increase in risk at higher body weights – an extra 62% per 5 kg/m² – whereas overall breast cancer risk increased by 5% per 5 kg/m².
Other cancers that increased with each 5kg/m² of additional weight were cancers of the gallbladder (+31%), kidney (+25%), cervix (+10%), thyroid (+9%), and leukaemia (+9%). Higher BMI also increased the overall risk of liver (+19%), colon (+10%), ovarian cancers (+9%).
However, the relationship is clearly not a simple one. In the case of prostate cancer and pre-menopausal breast cancer, a higher BMI seemed to slightly reduce cancer risk. Some other cancers showed no clear relationship to weight.
The study used data from general practitioner records in the UK’s Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). The risk of developing 22 of the most common cancers, which represent 90% of the cancers diagnosed in the UK, was measured according to BMI after adjusting for individual factors such as age, sex, smoking status, and socioeconomic status.
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