Lose weight and cut down on fat to slash risk of cancer, says new report
WOMEN are much more likely to get certain cancers if they are obese, experts warned yesterday.
But they can slash the risk with a few simple lifestyle changes.
Dr Julie Sharp of Cancer Research UK, which highlighted the issue, said: “There’s no need to run miles a day or give up your favourite food.
“Small changes that you can maintain long term have a real impact.
"As a start, try getting off the bus a stop earlier and cutting down on fat and sugar in your food.”
Being grossly overweight increases women’s risk of developing at least seven types of cancer – bowel, breast, gall bladder, womb, kidney, pancreas and gullet, Cancer Research UK said.
One obese woman in four – 274 out of every 1,000 – is likely to fall victim to a cancer associated with excess weight.
That is a 40 per cent higher risk than in women who maintain a healthy weight.
Around a quarter of British women are classed as obese and it is estimated that 18,000 women in the UK develop cancer each year as a result of being overweight.
Scientists believe that the production of hormones, especially oestrogen, in fat cells can fuel tumours.
Tracey Tanner, 35, a mother of one and property manager from London, told how she opted for a healthier lifestyle after finishing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011.
Since then she has lost six stone.
She said: “My cancer diagnosis was a massive wake-up call.
“I admitted to myself that I was more than overweight, I was obese.
"I began eating more healthily, giving up fizzy drinks and junk food, and exercising.
"I felt better and better.
Try getting off the bus a stop earlier and cutting down on fat and sugar in your food
“Now I’m training for my first marathon.”
But Dr Sharp stressed: “Losing weight takes time, so gradually build a healthier lifestyle.
"Find out about local services, which can provide help and support.
“Our cancer risk depends on a combination of our genes, our environment and other aspects of our lives – many of which we can control.
“Lifestyle changes, like not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and cutting back on alcohol, are the big opportunities to reduce our risk.
"These changes do not guarantee against cancer – but they stack the odds in our favour.”
Postmenopausal breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women and around 10 per cent of cases could have been prevented by a healthy weight, scientists say.
The value of exercise in preventing breast cancer was supported by a separate study at Duke University in North Carolina, in which mice were bred to develop the disease.
Putting them on a treadmill almost halved the aggressiveness of cancer cells.
It is thought that exercise may increase the amount of oxygen in cells, slowing the growth of tumours.
Experts say a quarter of today’s cancers attributable to obesity could be prevented if the population’s average Body Mass Index – a measure of fat based on height and weight – was the same as 30 years ago.
And if Britons continue to pile on the pounds it will lead to 4,000 extra cancer cases a year by 2026.
Women are twice as likely as men to have cancer linked to their weight, according to research last year.
Globally 500,000 cancer cases could be attributed to patients being overweight, the World Health Organisation found.
