One in five cancer deaths is caused by obesity, according to a new report just published.
Jennifer Ligibel of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University has told the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago: “The average weight of our citizens is increasing dramatically.”
“We’ve really got a critical mass of evidence where we see this relationship, the heavier people are more at risk.
“I think people are aware that being overweight increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes but not that it increases the risk of cancer and their risk of dying from cancer.
“It’s the case with breast cancer, prostate cancer, cancer of the colon and all the gynaecological cancers.”
At present, smoking is responsible for a quarter of cancer deaths, and according to Dr. Ligibel, obesity is on course to surpass that figure in 10 to 15 years time.