Overweight, Obesity and Cancer
By Jeannine Walston
Is overweight and obesity a problems in the U.S.?
Obesity is a disease in which a person has an unhealthy amount and distribution of body fat. Compared with people of healthy weight, those with overweight or obesity are at greater risk for many diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and at least 13 types of cancer, as well as having an elevated risk of death from all causes.
What causes obesity?
Experts suggest that the chief causes of obesity are a sedentary lifestyle with physical inactivity and a poor diet. Exercise for Cancer provides a physical activity to help control weight. Supporting your health and healing with your proper weight is not only about the numbers you see on the scale. The food you put in your mouth defines your wellness. Learn more about Cancer Diet. But there can be other factors.
What percentages of people are overweight or obesity in the U.S.?
Obesity has become more common in the United States in recent years—so common that it is sometimes referred to as an obesity epidemic, according to the National Cancer Institute and sources from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
- In 2011, 27.4% of adults ages 18 or older had obesity.
- In 2023, 32.8% of adults ages 18 or older had obesity.
The prevalence of obesity in the United States differs among racial and ethnic groups. In 2023, according to theCDC, the proportions of adults ages 18 years or older with obesity.
- Non-Hispanic Black, 42.0%
- American Indian/Alaska Native, 39.6%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 31.8%
- Hispanic, 35.1%
- Non-Hispanic White, 32.2%
- Asian, 13.4%
An analysis of changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined in the United States from 1990 to 2021 found that it has increased in all age groups examined.
Among adults ages 25 or older
- 49.1% of females and 60.5% of males had overweight or obesity in 1990
- 72.6% of females and 75.9% of males had overweight or obesity in 2021
How many people in each state are overweight or obese?
Rates of obesity have steadily increased over the past few decades in the United States.
How can overweight and obesity can lead to cancer?
Research suggests that in some people with cancer, excessive extra weight may contribute to and cause cancer development and cancer growth. Obesity and cancer are strongly linked. Living with a healthy weight is an essential part of an integrative cancer care plan for both cancer treatment and cancer prevention.
Overweight and obesity can cause long-lasting inflammation and higher than normal levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor, and sex hormones. These changes may lead to cancer. The risk of cancer increases with the more excess weight a person gains and the longer a person is overweight.
What are the obesity-associated cancers?
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD), being overweight or having obesity are associated with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer. These cancers make up 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
- Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
- Breast (in women who have gone through menopause).
- Colon and rectum.
- Uterus.
- Gallbladder.
- Upper stomach.
- Kidneys.
- Liver.
- Ovaries.
- Pancreas.
- Thyroid.
- Meningioma (a type of brain cancer).
- Multiple myeloma.
What are some resources about overweight, obesity, and also cancer?
If you deal with overweight or obesity, choose to change your body and health. Learn more about Cancer Diet, Exercise for Cancer, Inflammation and Cancer, and other integrative solutions, including creating an integrative cancer care plan, team, and self-care strategies.
To track more information, updated research, and other topics, visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Overweight & Obesity, Obesity and Cancer at the CDC, and Obesity and Cancer at the National Cancer Institute.