Beware! Obesity can bring cancer

In a shocking revelation, the ICMR recently released a report stating that the proportion of cancer cases has been higher among men (52.4%) than women. The report said that cancers of the head and neck region accounted for nearly one third (31.2%) of the cancers among males. The highest proportion of cancer from all sites was reported in the 45 to 64 age group, except for Prostate cancer, which was higher in those over 65 years.

India, for a long time, has been battling the rising incidence of cancer. Early this year, the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) released its estimate, stating that the number of cancer cases will likely increase from 13.9 lakh in 2020 to 15.7 lakh by 2025, an increase of nearly 20%. Cancers such as oral, lung and colorectal have been affecting more people in the age group of 20-50 years — a few of the most productive years of life. This also means that this increasing rate will cause a substantial financial and economic impact on patient families and the nation.

While India sees a higher occurrence of oral and lung cancers among young men, another disturbing fact is that nearly six types of cancers are linked to obesity and are slowly on the rise among people under 50. These are colon or rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, gallbladder cancer, uterine cancer (also called endometrial cancer), and Multiple Myeloma. These cancers are often not discovered in younger people until the disease is advanced and harder to treat.

A study conducted by the American Cancer Society revealed that people’s risk of cancer typically rises as they age. So, these young people at higher risk because of obesity could face even greater risk as they grow older. To understand the damage that obesity is already causing, consider that one in six cancer deaths in men and one in seven cancer deaths in women are related to the condition!

Relationship between obesity and cancer

Now, you might wonder how does obesity cause cancer. Fat is dynamic, and it doesn’t just sit in one place. It can become dysfunctional, resulting in inflammation, which increases the risk of developing cancer. Many of the cancers linked to obesity are in organs that are embedded in pads of fat.

In addition, excess fat can influence the whole body causing a systemic effect. For instance, people with dysfunctional fat tissue often have altered levels of hormones, such as insulin and estrogen. These changes can damage DNA and lead to several cancers, including some organs and even blood cancers, such as Multiple Myeloma. However, the one good thing is that at least one-third of common cancers are preventable.

We all know that oral and lung cancer that affects our male population to the maximum can be prevented by curbing smoking and tobacco consumption. We need to start thinking of some unhealthy foods similar to what we think about tobacco — unnecessary, addictive, and harmful.

There is a need for more public health campaigns that focus on increasing awareness about the growing health hazards due to obesity, pollution, adulteration of food, etc. Just like for a decade, we have been telling young people that smoking and tobacco chewing are harmful to health. We need to sensitise people about obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle that can cause cancers.

(The writer is a director of the Advanced OncoSurgery Unitin a Mumbai-based hospital)