Being a healthy weight could prevent 15% of pancreatic cancer cases

A report published by the World Cancer Research Fund today (4th October) has identified that more than 22,000 cases of cancer – enough people to pack the O2 arena – could be prevented every year in the UK if everyone was a healthy weight.

Details from World Cancer Research Fund’s Continuous Update Project (CUP) – which looks at the most recent cancer prevention studies – shows 18 per cent of the 123,000 weight-related cancer cases in the UK could be prevented annually.

This report, looking specifically at pancreatic cancer calculated that, from 8,383 annual cases in the UK, 1,257 could be prevented through being a healthy weight (roughly equal to a BMI of between 18.5 and 25). That’s 15% of all cases. 

Currently, 63 per cent of the UK population is either overweight (Body Mass Index [BMI] over 25) or obese (BMI over 30) – one of the highest levels in Europe.

There are several ways that excess body fat can affect cancer risk. Fat releases hormones and influences other parts of the body as well. For example, fat cells release proteins (called cytokines), which cause inflammation and may encourage the growth of cancerous cells. Excess body fat also leads to increased blood levels of insulin and related hormones that encourage cells to grow and divide more quickly, promoting tumour development.

To check if you have a healthy BMI us the BMI Calculator 

Source: WCRF Press Release, October 4th 2012.