Cancer and Obesity

As you know, I work for the National Cancer Institute, supposedly helping to prevent cancer.  Some days I actually feel like I'm making a difference in that direction.  Other days I think I'm just putting words on a screen/page that no one will ever read or care about.  But that is neither here nor there for this specific entry.  What I am interested in discussing is the connection between obesity and cancer.  My particular background and the majority of my work has been in smoking prevention and cessation.  Consequently, my limited knowledge about cancer is in relation to lung and oropharyngeal cancers.  And I do mean limited.  I am on the prevention side of cancer, meaning I am not concerned with the actual biological mechanisms of cancer.  I want to change behaviors that contribute to the expression of these mechanisms.  This means I do not have to know much about them.

But I do find I am constantly interested and intrigued in the link between obesity and cancer.  I think our general tendency in the US is to believe that obesity leads to cardiovascular problems, and this is why people die when overweight/obese.  Unfortunately, we overlook the strong link between obesity and cancer.  A recent NCI Cancer Bulletin discusses why obesity is linked to cancer, and I include the link below.  I think you might find it fascinating.

Love,
Amber

http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/111511/page3

P.S. I'm not including the punchline (the why of the connection) because the Bulletin does it much better than I ever could.