Obesity and inactivity fuel global cancer epidemic

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7292.945

BMJ 2001;322:945 ( 21 April )

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Obesity and inactivity fuel global cancer epidemic

Debbie Josefson, San Francisco
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Obesity and lack of exercise contribute to up to a third of cancers of the colon, breast, kidney, and digestive tract, saysa new report from the World Health Organization. The study wasprompted by concerns that obesity and its attendant health risksconstitute a growing globalepidemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that obesity causes 300000 deaths in the United States annually,a number exceeded only by deaths related to tobacco. Half of Europeanadults and 61% of Americans are overweight. Moreover, the proliferationof Western diets and sedentary lifestyles in developing countriesposes a threat to people who were previously at low risk ofobesity.

Obesity consumes 8% of the US healthcare budget and an estimated $100bn (£71.4bn) in direct and indirect costs. It is wellknown that obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases,but its role in oncogenesis is less understood. Several studies. . . [Full text of this article]

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