A new study published in Lancet’s Oncology Journal by the International Agency for research on cancer carried out a population study. They compared BMI and cancer data on 20+ year olds. They assumed a ten year lag to ensure they made correct assumptions.
The result? They found that in 2012 excess body weight was the reason for 481,000 new cases of cancer.
“Worldwide, we estimate that 481 000 or 3·6% of all new cancer cases in adults (aged 30 years and older after the 10-year lag period) in 2012 were attributable to high BMI. PAFs were greater in women than in men (5·4% vs 1·9%). The burden of attributable cases was higher in countries with very high and high human development indices (HDIs; PAF 5·3% and 4·8%, respectively) than in those with moderate (1·6%) and low HDIs (1·0%). Corpus uteri, postmenopausal breast, and colon cancers accounted for 63·6% of cancers attributable to high BMI. A quarter (about 118 000) of the cancer cases related to high BMI in 2012 could be attributed to the increase in BMI since 1982.”
