100,000+ Cancers in United States Caused by Obesity/Overweight

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), approximately 100,500 cancers occurring in the US every year can be attributed to excess body fat, underscoring the central role that overweight and obesity are now understood to play both in the development of cancer and in cancer survivorship.  According to AICR, the estimated number of cancers that are linked to excess body fat include: 49% of endometrial cancers (20,700 cases/year); 35% of esophageal cancers (5,800 cases/year); 28% of pancreatic cancers (11,900 cases/year); 24% of kidney cancers (13, 900 cases/year); 21% of gallbladder cancers (2,000 cases/year); 17 % of breast cancers (33,000 cases/year); and 9% of colorectal cancers (13,200 cases/year).  Laurence Kolonel, Deputy Director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii and AICR/WCRF expert panel member, observed that: “We now know that carrying excess body fat plays a central role in many of the most common cancers.  And it’s clearer than ever that obesity’s impact is felt before, during and after cancer – it increases risk, makes treatment more difficult and shortens survival.”