moore2me
Lions don't need to spank
Fat to blame for half a million cancers a year: WHO
Reuters By Kate Kelland3 hrs ago
Some half a million cases of cancer a year are due to people being overweight or obese, and the problem is particularly acute in North America, the World Health Organization's cancer research agency said on Wednesday.
In a study published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said high body mass index (BMI) has now become a major cancer risk factor, responsible for some 3.6 percent, or 481,000, of new cancer cases in 2012.
"The number of cancers linked to obesity and overweight is expected to rise globally along with economic development," said Christopher Wild, IARC's director.
He said the findings underlined the importance of helping people maintain a healthy weight to reduce their risk of developing a wide range of cancers, and of helping developing countries avoid the problems currently faced by wealthier ones.
The IARC study found that, for now, North America has by far the worst cancer problem linked to weight, with some 111,000 obesity-related cancers diagnosed in 2012, accounting for 23 percent of global cancer cases linked to high BMI.
In Europe, obesity is to blame for around 6.5 percent of all new cancers a year, or around 65,000 cases.
While in most Asian countries the proportion of fat-related cancers is smaller, it still translates into tens of thousands of cases because populations are so large, IARC said.
In China, for example, about 50,000 cancer cases are associated with being too fat, accounting for 1.6 percent of new cancer cases.
In Africa, on the other hand, obesity is to blame for only 1.5 percent of cancers.
Having a high BMI -- a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters -- increases the risk of developing cancers of the oesophagus, colon, rectum, kidney, pancreas, gallbladder, postmenopausal breast, ovary and endometrium. A BMI score of 25 or more is classed as overweight, while 30 or more is obese.
Melina Arnold, who co-led the IARC study, noted that women are disproportionately affected by obesity-related cancers. For post menopausal breast cancer, for example - the most common women's cancer worldwide - the findings suggest that 10 percent of cases could be prevented by not being overweight.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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Here's a list of questions/comments I have about the above study.
1. China and Africa were countries with low cancer rates. These two countries also were low in obesity.
In my opinion, this is not a news flash. For years we have been shown starving children and adults from these two countries. Sometimes it was due to war, sometimes due to plagues like locusts, poor rainfall or bad harvests. The WHO itself has documented malnutrition and starvation in these countries and suggested corrective actions. Also, I would like to see the life spans compared between cultures with high BMI and third world countries. I see Africans winning the endurance races in America - these guys run for hours and at the finish line look they could run twice as much and not break a sweat. But, what % of that culture is that healthy? What is the mortality and morbidity (death & sickness) rate of children or young mothers?
And how about new diseases arising from that continent? An example is the Eboli menace that had the world in fear just this year. How would a country rate in deadly communicable disease compared to cancer frEom obesity? How about a quality of life measurement? And to be fair, it's not just Africa. The Oriental lands are attributed to giving us SARs, swine flu, bird flu and often contribute significantly to each years new influenza load. What is the death rate from influenza?
2. Another area that is not discussed when looking at death rate and diseases - is the gritty fact of life - early death? Cost savings? It is well known that the last year(s) of life in our European culture is the most costly - counting insurance, hospitalization, nursing home cost, and spending most all of a senior's life savings. By extending life in the manner described in this study (lowering BMI) would that mean more people living longer and racking up more expensive healthcare bills?. If we have to pay the man, is living a few years longer cheaper or more expensive to our national economy? And before anyone wants to argue about compassion, I do have compassion for seniors. I am quickly approaching that age myself. Plus, my brothers and I recently had to put my mother in a nursing home. In one year of home health care we burned through half her life savings. And she has good health care insurance she earned while working. But when you're 88, the medical bills are enormous.
I do have a few more comments about this study, but I will save them for later. (I heard that sigh of relief from the peanut gallery.) :huh:
M2M
Reuters By Kate Kelland3 hrs ago
Some half a million cases of cancer a year are due to people being overweight or obese, and the problem is particularly acute in North America, the World Health Organization's cancer research agency said on Wednesday.
In a study published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said high body mass index (BMI) has now become a major cancer risk factor, responsible for some 3.6 percent, or 481,000, of new cancer cases in 2012.
"The number of cancers linked to obesity and overweight is expected to rise globally along with economic development," said Christopher Wild, IARC's director.
He said the findings underlined the importance of helping people maintain a healthy weight to reduce their risk of developing a wide range of cancers, and of helping developing countries avoid the problems currently faced by wealthier ones.
The IARC study found that, for now, North America has by far the worst cancer problem linked to weight, with some 111,000 obesity-related cancers diagnosed in 2012, accounting for 23 percent of global cancer cases linked to high BMI.
In Europe, obesity is to blame for around 6.5 percent of all new cancers a year, or around 65,000 cases.
While in most Asian countries the proportion of fat-related cancers is smaller, it still translates into tens of thousands of cases because populations are so large, IARC said.
In China, for example, about 50,000 cancer cases are associated with being too fat, accounting for 1.6 percent of new cancer cases.
In Africa, on the other hand, obesity is to blame for only 1.5 percent of cancers.
Having a high BMI -- a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters -- increases the risk of developing cancers of the oesophagus, colon, rectum, kidney, pancreas, gallbladder, postmenopausal breast, ovary and endometrium. A BMI score of 25 or more is classed as overweight, while 30 or more is obese.
Melina Arnold, who co-led the IARC study, noted that women are disproportionately affected by obesity-related cancers. For post menopausal breast cancer, for example - the most common women's cancer worldwide - the findings suggest that 10 percent of cases could be prevented by not being overweight.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a list of questions/comments I have about the above study.
1. China and Africa were countries with low cancer rates. These two countries also were low in obesity.
In my opinion, this is not a news flash. For years we have been shown starving children and adults from these two countries. Sometimes it was due to war, sometimes due to plagues like locusts, poor rainfall or bad harvests. The WHO itself has documented malnutrition and starvation in these countries and suggested corrective actions. Also, I would like to see the life spans compared between cultures with high BMI and third world countries. I see Africans winning the endurance races in America - these guys run for hours and at the finish line look they could run twice as much and not break a sweat. But, what % of that culture is that healthy? What is the mortality and morbidity (death & sickness) rate of children or young mothers?
And how about new diseases arising from that continent? An example is the Eboli menace that had the world in fear just this year. How would a country rate in deadly communicable disease compared to cancer frEom obesity? How about a quality of life measurement? And to be fair, it's not just Africa. The Oriental lands are attributed to giving us SARs, swine flu, bird flu and often contribute significantly to each years new influenza load. What is the death rate from influenza?
2. Another area that is not discussed when looking at death rate and diseases - is the gritty fact of life - early death? Cost savings? It is well known that the last year(s) of life in our European culture is the most costly - counting insurance, hospitalization, nursing home cost, and spending most all of a senior's life savings. By extending life in the manner described in this study (lowering BMI) would that mean more people living longer and racking up more expensive healthcare bills?. If we have to pay the man, is living a few years longer cheaper or more expensive to our national economy? And before anyone wants to argue about compassion, I do have compassion for seniors. I am quickly approaching that age myself. Plus, my brothers and I recently had to put my mother in a nursing home. In one year of home health care we burned through half her life savings. And she has good health care insurance she earned while working. But when you're 88, the medical bills are enormous.
I do have a few more comments about this study, but I will save them for later. (I heard that sigh of relief from the peanut gallery.) :huh:
M2M
