New research quantifies the impact of obesity on cancer

Researchers with the American Institute for Cancer Research have found that more than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat.  It’s bad enough that obesity increases an individual’s chance of getting cancer, but the damage caused by obesity continues once the cancer has begun to affect the body.  Obese cancer patients don’t respond as well to treatment as healthy weight patients.

“Obesity not only raises the risk for getting cancer,” said Glen Weldon, Education Director for the American Institute for Cancer Research, “it also has a negative effect on survival and can make treatment more difficult.”

We have often discussed the economic impacts of obesity, but findings like this remind us of the significant health impacts that go along with obesity.

You can read the CNN article on the findings here.