Study: Obesity 'bigger cancer risk' than previously thought

A new study suggests that being overweight or obese may be a greater risk factor for certain types of cancer than previously thought. Researchers, led by Hermann Brenner from the German Cancer Research Center, found that up to 11.5% of cancers could be attributed to excess body weight. This is a significant increase from the previously estimated 2% to 8%.

The study, which analyzed data from 458,543 participants in the UK Biobank, also found that the link between obesity and cancer may have been underestimated in previous research. This is due to the fact that BMI, commonly used to measure excess weight, does not account for the distribution of fat in the body. Excess abdominal fat, in particular, can trigger a chronic inflammatory metabolic state and release signaling molecules that may contribute to tumor growth.

While the study suggests higher cancer risk for overweight women, particularly in relation to hormone-dependent cancers such as breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers, researchers caution that further studies are needed to confirm these findings.