A new study suggests that maintaining a healthy weight may be important in reducing the risk of gastrointestinal cancer, UPI reports.

The study adds to evidence that being overweight and weight gain in adulthood increase the risk of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal tract (GI cancer).

"At a time when obesity rates are increasing globally, and 70 percent of the U.S. population alone are overweight or obese, understanding the link between obesity and long-term risk of diseases such as cancer is critical to improving public health," said study leader Holly Lumans-Crop, an epidemiologist at The Ohio State University's Center for Comprehensive Cancer Research. Columbus.

"Our study shows that being overweight or obese through several stages of life may increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancer in later adulthood," she said in a press release.

Body mass index (BMI), which reaches levels of obesity or overweight in early, middle and late adulthood, increases the risk of gastrointestinal cancer. Frequent aspirin use did not alter this increased risk in overweight and obese people, the study found.

According to the National Cancer Institute, obesity and overweight are associated with at least 13 types of cancer.

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For the purpose of the new study, the researchers evaluated previously collected data from more than 131,000 patients enrolled in the multicenter prostate, lung, colon and ovarian cancer screening study between 1993 and 2001.
According to the researchers, fat cells can trigger an inflammatory response and promote dysfunction of immune cells. This can lead to cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, metabolic conditions such as type 55 diabetes, and some cancers.

The researchers used age 20 as the definition of early adulthood, 50 years for middle age, and 55 or older for later adulthood. They also noted how often the participants took aspirin or products containing aspirin.

The study, published online in the Journal of American Medical Association, followed participants for 13 years or until Dec. 31, 2009, whichever was earlier.

"We believe that the results of this study highlight the need for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of cancer prevention tools, as well as who may or may not benefit from their use. The field of precision prevention is still relatively new, but it is an exciting avenue for cancer prevention research," said Lumans-Krop.

obesity

Cancer