Obesity is a frequently overlooked factor that can contribute to an increased ca

ncer risk, yet less than 10 percent of Americans are aware of this link.1 Accord
ing to the National Cancer Institute,2 an estimated 84,000 annual cancer cases a
re linked to obesity.
Obesity may also affect the efficacy of cancer treatments. With rising obesity r
ates among young children in particular, it's becoming really important to under
stand this link.
Childhood obesity has nearly tripled since 1980, and one in five kids is now ove
rweight by age six; 17 percent of children and adolescents are now obese.3 Unfor
tunately, childhood obesity has become so prevalent that many parents fail to re
cognize that their children are in fact overweight.4
Research5 has confirmed this perceptual shift, concluding that overweight/obese
children are now nearly 25 percent less likely to be perceived as overweight com
pared to the previous decade.
While body acceptance is a good thing, it can also be dangerous if potent risk f
actors for lethal disease are simply ignored as "normal" in the process.
As noted in a recent position statement on obesity and cancer by the American So
ciety of Clinical Oncology6 (ASCO), obesity is "quickly overtaking tobacco as th
e leading preventable cause of cancer." To address this overlooked cause of canc
er, ASCO has established a multipronged initiative, which includes:
Education to raise awareness about the evidence linking obesity and cancer
Tools and resources to help oncology providers address obesity with their patien
ts
Research
Advocating for policy and systems change to address societal factors contributin
g to obesity and improve access to weight management services for patients with
cancer
Processed Food Drives Obesity and Cancer Epidemics
The obesity epidemic is directly related to excessive sugar consumption (virtual
ly every single processed food is now loaded with hidden sugar and fructose, inc
luding baby food and foods thought of as "health foods"), and this is also a maj
or driving factor for the cancer epidemic.
The link between a high-sugar diet, obesity, and cancer can be summarized in two
words: insulin resistance. Both obesity and cancer result when your body loses
its ability to burn fat as fuel.
Sugar also causes chronic inflammation, which also raises the risk of cancer. An
d, as noted in the featured CNN article:7
"Fat tissue also produces hormones called adipokines, which can stimulate or inh
ibit cell growth8... If these hormones are out of balance, the body may not be a
ble to properly fight cell damage."
One of the most effective ways to reverse insulin resistance is intermittent fas
ting, along with making some basic changes to your diet, which revolves around r
estricting your sugar and fructose intake, and replacing carbs with healthy fats
.
Studies Showing Obesity-Cancer Link
A number of studies have linked obesity to an increased risk for about a dozen d
ifferent cancers, including cancer of the colon, esophagus, kidney, breast, and
pancreas, as well as a heightened risk of dying from the disease:
A 16-year long study9 published in 2003 that included more than 900,000 American
s found that obese participants were more likely to be diagnosed and die from ca
ncer, compared to those of normal weight
According to the authors, obesity "could account for 14 percent of all deaths fr
om cancer in men and 20 percent of those in women"
A recent report published in the journal Cancer Research10 projects cancer incid
ence and death from cancer in the US will continue to rise over the next decade
and a half, in large part due to rising obesity rates
A recent study11 involving 80,000 breast cancer patients found that pre-menopaus
al women with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 had a 21.5 percent chance of death
whereas women with average BMI had a 16.6 percent chance of dying from the dise
ase
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine12 f
ound that most adults (just over 71 percent) get 10 percent or more of their dai
ly calories from added sugar. Approximately 10 percent of American adults get 25
percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar!
On average, Americans consume about 350 calories a day from added sugar, which e
quates to about 22 teaspoons, and this is a sure-fire recipe for chronic poor he
alth...
In the JAMA study just mentioned, those who consumed 21 percent or more of their
daily calories in the form of sugar were twice as likely to die from heart dise
ase compared to those who got seven percent or less or their daily calories from
added sugar. The risk was nearly tripled among those who consumed 25 percent or
more of their daily calories from added sugar.
But cancer is also fed by excess sugar, so while cancer risk was not assessed he
re, there's little doubt that your cancer risk will rise right along with your r
isk for heart disease...
Your Body Has Limited Ability to Process Sugar
The main problem with sugar, and processed fructose in particular, is the fact t
hat your liver has a very limited capacity to metabolize it. According to Dr. Ro
bert Lustig, you can safely use about six teaspoons of added sugar per day unles
s you are vigorously exercising. But the average American consumes 22 teaspoons
of added sugar a day.
All that excess sugar is metabolized into body fat, and leads to all of the chro
nic metabolic diseases we struggle with, including cancer.
Four grams of sugar is equivalent to about one teaspoon, and I strongly recommen
d limiting your daily fructose intake to 25 grams or less from all sources, incl
uding natural ones like fruit. That equates to just over six teaspoons of sugar
a day.
If you're among the 80 percent majority who have insulin or leptin resistance (o
verweight, diabetic, high blood pressure, or taking a statin drug), you'd be wis
e to restrict your total fructose consumption to as little as 15 grams per day,
until you've normalized your insulin and leptin levels.