Few diseases strike terror into the hearts of Americans the way cancer can. And a report released yesterday by the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests one way that a growing number of people can help prevent it: Maintain a healthy body weight.
Here are their estimates of the number of cancers in the U.S. linked to overweight and obesity:
- 49% of endometrial cancers = 20,700 cases/year
- 35% of esophageal cancers = 5,800 cases/year?
- 28% of pancreatic cancers = 11,900 cases/year ?
- 24% of kidney cancers = 13, 900 cases/year?
- 21% of gallbladder cancers = 2,000 cases/year?
- 17 % of breast cancers = 33,000 cases/year?
- 9% of colorectal cancers = 13,200 cases/year?
TOTAL: 100,500 cases/year
The nonprofit organization, founded in 1983, is dedicated to research that shows how everyday actions can reduce cancer risk.
Learn more about their research …
A pair of studies out this week on keeping those extra pounds at bay offer some standard – and sometimes surprising – advice.
Being overweight is a simple equation: eating more calories than you burn. And when you hear that more than 20% of California children ages 6-19 are overweight, it’s easy to blame the calories. Steven Blair, past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of public health at the University of South Carolina, doesn’t.
Ten minutes of extra exercise per day at age 5 adds up to one-third of a pound less fat at ages 8 and 11. What’s more, every hour kids spend couch-potato style during the day means it takes them three minutes longer to fall asleep – and poor sleep patterns have been linked with increased risk for obesity.
We’re getting fatter. 
People who bike or walk to work are thinner. 
Swearing can make you feel better. 
Is there anyone out there who still doubts that America is getting fatter – especially our children? The sixth annual “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America” report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation paints a clear and chubby picture.
Moms who drink lots of fructose-sweetened beverages (think sodas, fruit juices, etc.) while breastfeeding could have babies more prone to obesity and type 2 diabetes, a new animal study has shown. Researchers found that rat pups those whose mothers were given fructose-supplemented water while nursing their young ate more and were fatter than those whose mothers drank plain water. They also had increased blood levels of the “hunger” hormone leptin, and high insulin levels, indicating they were likely diabetic. The researchers, who presented their study Thursday at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., recommended breastfeeding mothers stick to a balanced diet and low fructose intake to help prevent obesity in their children. 
Pregnancy shouldn’t be a license to overeat – especially if you’re already obese – concludes a study out this month in The Journal of the National Medical Association. 
