Spurred by Surge in Obesity Statistics, Cancer Experts Issue Warning

American Institute for Cancer Research
Thursday, 10 October 2002

Researchers at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) today expressed grave concern over new numbers from the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, published in the October 9 Journal of the American Medical Association. The cancer experts warned that if obesity rates continue to surge they will precipitate a corresponding increase in US cancer cases.

According to the new statistics, the number of Americans who are overweight has reached an all-time high of 64.5 percent -- more than 120 million people. The AICR researchers are particularly dismayed that the American obesity epidemic has continued its relentless growth in the face of repeated health messages about the dangers of overweight and obesity.

Scientific evidence of the obesity-cancer link continues to mount. A large 1999 cohort study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that 10% of all U.S. cancer deaths among nonsmokers are caused by overweight. That would place the number of preventable deaths at around 15,500 each year, based on the most recent cancer statistics.

The impact of overweight on cancer cases may be even larger. A recent report by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated that being overweight and inactive accounts for one-quarter to one-third of all breast cancers, colon cancers, endometrial cancers, kidney cancers and esophageal cancers. In the U.S. alone, that estimate represents between 102,000 and 135,000 cases each year.

The AICR experts were also concerned over recent poll numbers showing that most Americans remain specifically unaware of the clear links that exist between overweight and cancer. At AICR's International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer in July, researchers released a survey showing that only 6 percent of Americans were able to identify overweight and obesity as a possible cancer risk.

In the same survey, Americans were read a list of chronic diseases and specifically asked which ones are significantly affected by overweight and obesity. The great majority were able to identify heart disease (89 percent) and diabetes (86 percent) as conditions made more likely by being overweight or obese. Only 25 percent, however, were aware that overweight and obesity increase cancer risk.

A new "mini-site" featuring links to detailed information on all aspects of the obesity-cancer issue has just gone live on the AICR webpage. Visit AICR's Obesity-Cancer Link mini-site at: www.aicr.org/obesity.

For more information, or to contact American Institute for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.aicr.org