Research: Cancer, Obesity Closely Linked

WASHINGTON -- Researchers say it's clear that obesity greatly increases the risk of cancer.

Leading experts from around the world are meeting in Washington to discuss major new scientific findings.

International Obesity Task Force chairman Phillip James said "the whole world is getting fatter." And he said the research has found "intimate links" between the development of cancer and this weight gain.

Dr. George Bray, director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, said fat tissue produces more of the steroidal substances that make cancer more likely to develop in reproductive and endocrine-supported organs.

"The more we understand about obesity, the more we realize that simply being overweight and inactive -- in other words, living the modern American lifestyle -- produces basic hormonal and metabolic changes," he said. "These changes make it easier for cancer to gain a foothold."

Christine Friedenreich of the Alberta Cancer Center in Canada said excess body weight and physical inactivity account for as much as one-third of breast, colon, endometrial, kidney and esophageal cancers.

The two-day conference, presented by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund International, is the world's largest scientific conference on diet and cancer.