Obesity Responsible for almost Half-Million Cancers Annually

A new report published by the UN shows that obesity is responsible for almost half a million cases of cancer every year, with Barbados and Puerto Rico leading the way for the highest number of cancer cases that could be attributed to obesity in women. The study was led by Dr Melina Arnold from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) who analyzed data from a number of different sources, including GLOBOCAN database of cancer incidence and mortality for 184 countries, and found that around 1.9 percent or 136,000 new cases of cancer among men in 2012 was directly attributed to obesity while the number of more than double, at 5.4 percent or 345,000 new cases, among women.

The incidence of cancer attributed to obesity among women was highest in Barbados with 12.7 percent while Puerto Rico was a close second at 12 percent while for men, it was Czech Republic with 5.5 percent, followed by Jordan at 4.5 percent and UK and Malta at 4.4 percent.

The Director of IARC, Dr Christopher Wild warned that the number is expected to rise further as the obesity rates grow. “The number of cancers linked to obesity and overweight is expected to rise globally along with economic development”, he said.

Source-Medindia