Obesity could cause 700,000 new cancer cases within 20 years

A new health report has warned that the growing obesity crisis in the UK could result in more than 700,000 new cancer cases associated with excess weight in the next 20 years.

The stark warning comes from a study published by Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Forum – who say immediate action is required in order to combat Britain’s “alarming” obesity levels.

If current trends continue, the report states that by 2035, obese will be the most prevalent body type for UK adults, with nearly 3 in 4 of people being overweight or obese.

Despite the fact that food and drink goods are now required to clearly display calorie, fat and sugar content, it seems the nation is fatter than ever, with cancers caused by excess weight up by 45% since 1996. A third of our children are obese and are heading towards an early grave unless something is done quickly.

Moreover, estimates are also predicting that again by the year 2035, obesity-related health problems, including diabetes and heart disease, will set the NHS back over £7.5billion per year.

The list of cancers attributed to obesity are both varied and concerning, and include: cancer of the bowel, breast in older women, gallbladder, liver, kidney, womb, pancreatic, oesophageal, and aggressive forms of ovarian and prostate cancer.

Cancer Research UK is also calling for a 20p-per-litre sugary drink tax, an idea that is being repeatedly also called for by the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. However, thus far the government has held firm and consistently rejected any proposals for a sugar tax, in spite of similar pleas coming from health bodies and MPs.

Oliver has spoken on the urgent need to improve public health: “Being overweight or obese can cause many diseases, including some cancers. But I believe we can prevent the rising trend in obesity in the UK and across the world. Food education is key here. If governments take children’s health more seriously and use education to inspire them, we could have a huge impact on their health and wellbeing.

“We’re raising a generation of children in a society where junk food is cheap, widely advertised and packed full of sugar, so it’s difficult to teach them how to make healthy choices. We need to give these kids a chance to be healthier adults – starting with a tax on sugary drinks to tackle obesity and diet-related disease in young people.”

Next month ministers will publish a long-awaited obesity strategy after worries from health experts that their concerns are not being tackled properly.

The report is also urging the government to take far tougher action through banning junk food adverts between 6am and 9pm to limit the chances of them being seen by children.

Obesity can cause cancer by causing alterations within the body. For women, extra fat may cause the production of excess oestrogen and resulting in the multiplying of cells in the breast and womb.
Moreover, insulin and other growth factors are also at risk of increasing, meaning cells are able to divide a lot faster. The cells in fat can emit inflammatory chemicals which are responsible for cell division, including those with cancer.

Alison Cox, director of cancer prevention at Cancer Research UK, said: “Obesity will be a huge burden to society and the NHS in the near future.

“We must act now to combat this threat and we need the Government to restrict the marketing of sugary food to children.

“Kids are bombarded with advertisements for unhealthy food.

“It’s vital the Government restricts this kind of advertising if we are to give our children the chance for better and healthier lives.”

‘Tidal wave’ of cancer cases to hit by 2035

A ‘tidal wave’ of cancer cases is expected in the next two decades unless restrictions are implemented, in particularly on alcohol and sugar.

This is the claim from World Health Organization (WHO) scientists who estimate that the worldwide number of new cancer cases in a single year will skyrocket by 70%; from 14.1 million in 2012 to 19 million by 2025, 22 million by 2030, and then further rise to around 24 million by 2035.

The warnings were laid bare in the latest World Cancer Report released by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), who stress the “real need” to boost cancer prevention methods by tackling three lifestyle choices that often cause cancer – smoking, obesity and drinking.

Chris Wild, the director of the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, told the BBC: “The global cancer burden is increasing and quite markedly, due predominately to the ageing of the populations and population growth. If we look at the cost of treatment of cancers, it is spiralling out of control, even for the high-income countries. Prevention is absolutely critical and it’s been somewhat neglected.”

Less developed countries will bear the brunt of the cancer cases, with incidence rates expected to go up by 44% in the next decade, whereas more developed countries are likely to see a rise of only 20%.
Differences in rates are primarily because of the variance in quality of healthcare and preventative measures, i.e. screening programmes and vaccines for cancers developed from infections such as the human papilloma virus (HPV). The gap is expected to grow however as those in less developed countries adhere to more ‘industrialised lifestyles’; eating more processed food, drinking more alcohol and smoking more.

According to the 2014 WHO World Cancer Report, the main factors involved with preventable cancers include:

. Air pollution and other environmental factors.
. Alcohol.
. Delayed parenthood, having fewer children and not breastfeeding.
. Infections.
. Obesity and inactivity.
. Radiation, both from the sun and medical scans.
. Smoking.

Dr Bernard Stewart from the University of New South Wales in Australia, was one of the editors in the report and he says prevention has a “crucial role in combating the tidal wave of cancer which we see coming across the world”.

Dr Stewart argues it is our human behaviour which is causing a lot of cancer cases such as the sunbathe “until you’re cooked evenly on both side” attitude in his homeland.

He added it was not the IARC’s job to govern what is to be done, but he commented: “In relation to alcohol, for example, we’re all aware of the acute effects, whether its car accidents or assaults, but there’s a burden of disease that’s not talked about because it’s simply not recognised, specifically involving cancer. The extent to which we modify the availability of alcohol, the labelling of alcohol, the promotion of alcohol and the price of alcohol – those things should be on the agenda.”

Dr Stewart also says sugar is one issue that also needs tackling as high sugar intake is merely adding to the obesity crisis, which is then increasing a person’s risk of cancer once obese.

New cases of cancer now over 14 million

The number of people dying from cancer each year has increased, according to the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The global death toll went up by 8%, increasing from 7.6 million – calculated in a 2008 survey – to the figure of 8.2 million that was estimated for 2012.

In respect of just actual diagnoses of cancer, this has also increased, with over 14 million being diagnosed with cancer in 2012. This marks a significant increase from the 12.7 million cases that were recorded in 2008.

Last year, an estimated 1.7 million women were given new a new diagnosis of breast cancer, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This represents an increase in excess of 20% from 2008, with both incidence and mortality going up.

In fact, the disease is now the most prevalent of all cancers in women across 140 countries around the world.

Dr David Forman, from the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, said: “Breast cancer is also a leading cause of cancer death in the less developed countries of the world. This is partly because a shift in lifestyles is causing an increase in incidence, and partly because clinical advances to combat the disease are not reaching women living in these regions.”

IARC’s report, named GLOBOCAN 2012, offers the most recent available statistics for 28 different types of cancer within 184 countries, providing an extensive look into the problem of cancer across the globe.

The report states that the most diagnosed cancers worldwide in both sexes combined are lung, breast and colorectal cancers. The cancers found to commonly result in death are lung, liver and stomach cancers.

Overall, lung cancer – primarily caused as a result of smoking – was found to be the world’s most common cancer. The 1.8 million cases recorded is 13% of the total.

The burgeoning problem of cancer is believed to be linked to a change in lifestyles in the developing nations, shifting more closely towards industrialised countries.

However, the report noted “huge inequalities” between rich and poor countries. For instance, new cases of cancer being higher in developed countries, it is the less developed countries that have much higher death rates. Reasons for this are thought to be due to lack of screening and access to treatment, meaning cancerous tumours often not being found at an early enough stage.

Christopher Wild, IARC’s director, commented: “An urgent need in cancer control today is to develop effective and affordable approaches to the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer among women living in less developed countries.”