Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Epidemiology

Obesity and cancer—the evidence is fattening up

A large-scale study with 5.24 million participants has found statistically significant associations between increased BMI and 17 of 22 frequent cancers. The strongest associations were observed for cancers of the endometrium, kidney, gallbladder and uterus. Questions remain as to whether several of the weaker associations reported in this study reflect genuinely causal relationships.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. IARC. Weight Control and Physical Activity, IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention. Vol. 6 (WHO Press, 2002).

  2. Bianchini, F., Kaaks, R. & Vainio, H. Overweight, obesity, and cancer risk. Lancet Oncol. 3, 565–574 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Renehan, A. G., Tyson, M., Egger, M., Heller, R. F. & Zwahlen, M. Body-mass index and incidence of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. Lancet 371, 569–578 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bhaskaran, K. et al. Body-mass index and risk of 22 specific cancers: a population-based cohort study of 5.24 million UK adults. Lancet 384, 755–765 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ritte, R. et al. Adiposity, hormone replacement therapy use and breast cancer risk by age and hormone receptor status: a large prospective cohort study. Breast Cancer Res. 14, R76 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Pischon, T. et al. Body size and risk of colon and rectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). J. Natl Cancer Inst. 98, 920–931 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Crosbie, E. J., Zwahlen, M., Kitchener, H. C., Egger, M. & Renehan, A. G. Body mass index, hormone replacement therapy, and endometrial cancer risk: a meta-analysis. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 19, 3119–3130 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Olsen, C. M. et al. Obesity and risk of ovarian cancer subtypes: evidence from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. Endocr. Relat. Cancer 20, 251–262 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bergström, A., Pisani, P., Tenet, V., Wolk, A. & Adami, H. O. Overweight as an avoidable cause of cancer in Europe. Int. J. Cancer 91, 421–430 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Parkin, D. M., Boyd, L. & Walker, L. C. The fraction of cancer attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors in the UK in 2010. Br. J. Cancer 105 (Suppl. 2), S77–S81 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rudolf Kaaks.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kaaks, R., Kühn, T. Obesity and cancer—the evidence is fattening up. Nat Rev Endocrinol 10, 644–645 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.168

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.168

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer