Overweight and obesity linked to higher cancer risks in large Danish study

Overweight and obesity were associated with higher risks of several common cancers in a 40-year, nationwide Danish study.

In the Journal of Internal Medicine study, there were 20,706 cancers among 313,321 adults diagnosed with overweight and obesity compared with 18,480 cancers that were expected based on information from the general population. This corresponds to a 12% higher risk associated with overweight and obesity.

Having type 2 diabetes or alcoholism-related diseases in addition to overweight or obesity was linked with even higher risks.

The increased risk was seen for cancers previously identified as obesity-related, including pancreatic and postmenopausal breast cancers, as well as for blood and neurological cancers.