Obesity in adulthood reduces the chance of survival from breast and colorectal cancer. This is according to a new study funded by the World Cancer Research Fund. The greater the overweight, and the longer this lasts, the smaller the chance of survival after cancer diagnosis. This again emphasizes the importance of preventing overweight.
How long women have been overweight in adulthood (20 – 50 years), and how much overweight it is, influences the chances of survival after a diagnosis of breast and colorectal cancer. With overweight, the chance of survival after a cancer diagnosis decreases for every year of life.
The findings of the study indicate a long-term effect of being overweight and its impact on the chance of surviving cancer. It was already known that being overweight increases the risk of developing breast and colorectal cancer; now research shows that being overweight also increases the risk of death after diagnosis of these types of cancer.
For the prevention of cancer, the advice of the World Cancer Research Fund is already:'Stay at a healthy weight. Keep your weight within healthy limits and prevent weight gain in adulthood.” However, more research is needed for a recommendation on body weight after cancer diagnosis; this new study does, however, provide clues about the impact of overweight on cancer.
