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BELLY FAT HEALTH RISKS
Can Stomach Fat Cause Cancer?Cancer is a terrifying and often-puzzling disease that strikes victims of every race, creed and gender. Scientists continue to labor for a cure and have teased out a growing body of research about the many different faces of this disease. They have learned that there are many risk factors associated with developing cancer such as genetics, smoking and exposure to certain chemicals. One especially strong risk factor for developing cancer is obesity, and, specifically, a high amount of belly fat. Overweight and obese individuals are at an increased risk to develop colon, breast, endometrium, kidney and esophagus cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, obesity may account for 25 – 30 percent of the cancers listed above. This translates into 41,000 new cases of cancer a year that can be attributed to overweight and obesity. The choices that you make every day about whether to exercise and eat right could have drastic consequences to your future. Up to 14 percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent of cancer deaths in women are attributed to being overweight or obese. If you’ve ever needed an extra motivational push to get to the gym or to fix yourself a healthy lunch, read those statistics again. Stomach fat doesn’t just look bad, it could actually kill you. Researchers are still trying to understand the link between cancer and obesity, but it most likely has to do with the hormonal differences between overweight and normal weight individuals. Belly fat changes the delicate hormone cocktail that keeps the body healthy and functioning correctly. Mid-section fat also strongly affects the body’s insulin balance, which is why obese individuals are at a high risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes. Changes to the body’s insulin, estrogen, and progesterone balances in overweight and sedentary individuals may lead to changes on the cellular level where cancer develops. Observational research seems to support the conventional wisdom that both consistent aerobic exercise and weight loss can lower the risk of the same types of cancers that are linked to overweight and obesity. While clinical studies are still needed to confirm this observation, one promising review of observational trials found that moderate physical activity cut the risk of colon cancer in study subjects by 50 percent. As the rates of overweight and obese adults in the United States continues to hover above 60 percent, cancer remains a prevalent risk for this population that already suffers high rates of asthma, diabetes, sleep apnea and heart disease. Now is the time to lose your belly fat permanently. Your life may very well be on the line. |
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