Being Fat raises cancer risk

‘Strong Evidence’: Obesity Tied to 11 Cancers

“Strong evidence” supports the association between obesity and 11 cancers, which mostly comprise digestive organ tumors and hormone-related malignancies in women, according to a new analysis published online February 28 in BMJ.

The umbrella review’s conclusion — that excess body fat increases most digestive system cancers as well as endometrial and postmenopausal breast cancer — agrees with last year’s report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), point out a pair of researchers in an accompanying editorial.

Excess body fat is potentially the second most important modifiable cancer risk factor after smoking, they say.