Harmful Effects of Obesity You Might Be In Danger Of

Many effects of obesity are health problems such as heart diseases and diabetes. But the worst diseases caused by being overweight are cancers. Yes, tumor development is influenced by your body mass index or weight.

What are types of cancers that are obesity effects?

1. Colon Cancer

Tumors in the colon are just one of the dangers of being overweight.

Here are proofs that being obese can lead to colorectal tumor. . .

More men with high body mass index (BMI) have been diagnosed with tumors in their colons.

Colorectal tumor is more common among women with high BMI and who are taking estrogen.

What causes colorectal tumors in obese or overweight people?

These are common characteristics among them such as . . .

• High abdominal fat,
• Disregard of the importance of exercise, and
• High level of insulin.

All of these obesity effects promote tumor development in the walls of the colon.

2. Breast Cancer

Breast tumor is one of the effects of obesity. Being overweight leads to the development of cancerous cells in your breasts, particularly the postmenopausal type. It is found out that. . . .

• before menopause, obese women have lower risk for it than women with healthy weight;
• after menopause, the risk for an obese woman is 1.5 times higher;
• obese women have increased risk of dying from breast cancer compared to lean women. Thus, it is recommended that a woman's BMI should be below 25 throughout her adult life;
• a breast tumor in obese women is more likely to be detected when it is already late-stage. Detection and prevention of a malignant tumor in an overweight woman is more difficult; and
• large abdominal fat is found to add to risk for breast cancer.

Postmenopausal breast cancer and obesity are connected

because estrogen is produced largely in ovaries. After menopause, the ovaries stop doing so and fat tissues are now the source of estrogen.

One of the harmful effects of obesity is on the level of estrogen. Being postmenopausal and overweight at the same increases your estrogen levels up to 50 to 100% higher.

Breast tissues are sensitive to estrogen. When breast tissues are exposed to heavy stimulation from estrogen, it results to faster growth of breast tumors.

Related Article: Breast Cancer Facts

3. Endometrial Cancer

A tumor that develops in your endometrium is one of the common types of cancer in which obesity is a risk factor.

Experts have observed that...

• obese women have 2-4 times greater risk for endometrial cancer regardless of menopausal status, and
• 40% of endometrial cancer cases can be considered as obesity health problems.

Again, the reason may be due to lifetime exposure to higher levels of estrogen and insulin.

Endometrial tumors are also triggered by unhealthy eating habits and certain acidic foods like french fries and potato chips.

4. Prostate Cancer

A study done by researchers from the Duke University has solid evidence that obese men are more at risk for developing high-grade and advanced tumors in their prostates. And those who have been treated face higher levels of recurrence.

It is also harder to detect the disease among obese men because their PSA levels can show a low number even if they already have the tumor. A thorough biopsy is also difficult when the patient is obese because he has a larger prostate.

Being active and following any of the guidelines on healthy eating are steps to be healthy and to avoid the effects of obesity.

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Dangers of Being Overweight | Cancer and Obesity: What is the Link? | Cancer Causing Foods | Effects of Radiation | Family's History of Cancer | What is Human Aging?

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