Study: Fat Causes 90,000 U.S. Cancer Deaths a Year

AP via Foxnews.com ^ | 4/24/03 | AP

[jalisco555]

Losing weight could prevent one of every six cancer deaths in the United States -- more than 90,000 each year, according to a sweeping study that experts say links fat and cancer more convincingly than ever before.

Researchers spent 16 years evaluating 900,000 people who were cancer-free when the study began in 1982. They concluded that excess weight may account for 14 percent of all cancer deaths in men and 20 percent of those in women.

[NotQuiteCricket]

I think the point is though, that people cannot take care of themselves, and need the government there to guide them (think the communists). Don't smoke, don't eat too much, don't drive fast....blah blah blah. If there weren't "free for me" health care, none of this would really be an issue (I get sick, go on medicaid and then you pay for my hospital bills through taxes).

[socal_parrot]

So, 65% of the USA is overweight. That means about 175,000,000, give or take a fat-a$$ or two. Ninety grand cancer deaths out of 175 million pleasantly plump Americans doesn't seem statistically shocking.

[Salvation]

I lost 60 lbs. this last year on a low carb, low fat diet. Feel so much better!

[cogitator]

I'm confused, which is worse, being overweight, or smoking?

Unless you gain enough weight to be considered obese, smoking is considerably worse.

[cogitator]

They look at the scale and BMI and assume they are doing terrible when they aren't.

The mirror is also an effective diagnostic tool. Muscular people can tell if they have love handles or not.

[cogitator]

Some of these studies have shown that obese adult men who had sufficient activity

What percentage of the population of obese adult men HAS sufficient activity? Obesity itself tends to limit the ability to be active. (Vicious circle)

[aruanan]

What percentage of the population of obese adult men HAS sufficient activity? Obesity itself tends to limit the ability to be active. (Vicious circle)

Apparently large enough that it could be measured statistically. People tend to think "slim = good; obese = bad" and then look at the slim inactive people who kick off early and the obese active people who don't merely as flukes. Let me find an abstract of one of S Blair's studies. Okay, here's one where they did a review of 700 other articles in which body fat could be related to physical activity and causes of morbidity and mortality.

Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999 Nov;31(11 Suppl):S646-62

Effects of physical inactivity and obesity on morbidity and mortality: current evidence and research issues.

Blair SN, Brodney S.
The Cooper Institute, Dallas, TX 75230, USA.
sblair@cooperinst.org

PURPOSE: The purpose of this review was to address three specific questions. 1) Do higher levels of physical activity attenuate the increased health risk normally observed in overweight or obese individuals? 2) Do obese but active individuals actually have a lower morbidity and mortality risk than normal weight persons who are sedentary? 3) Which is a more important predictor of mortality, overweight or inactivity? METHODS: We initially identified more than 700 articles that included information on the exposure variables of body habitus (body mass index, body composition, or body fat pattern) and physical activity habits, and on outcomes such as morbidity or mortality. To be included in the review, we required that an article include an analysis of one of our outcomes by strata of the two exposure variables. We excluded review articles and reports of cross-sectional analyses. We used an evidence-based approach to evaluate the quality of the published data. RESULTS: We summarized results from 24 articles that met all inclusion criteria. Data were available for the outcomes of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer. Summary results for all outcomes except cancer were generally consistent in showing that active or fit women and men appeared to be protected against the hazards of overweight or obesity. This apparent protective effect was often stronger in obese individuals than in those of normal weight or who were overweight. *There were too few data on cancer to permit any conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: There are no randomized clinical trials on the topics addressed in this review. All studies reviewed were prospective observational studies, so all conclusions are based on Evidence Category, C. The conclusions for the three questions addressed in the review are: 1) regular physical activity clearly attenuates many of the health risks associated with overweight or obesity; 2) physical activity appears to not only attenuate the health risks of overweight and obesity, but active obese individuals actually have lower morbidity and mortality than normal weight individuals who are sedentary, and 3) inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness are as important as overweight and obesity as mortality predictors. Research needs include extending current observations to more diverse populations, including more studies in women, the elderly, and minority groups, assessment methods need to be improved, and randomized clinical trials addressing the questions discussed in this review should be undertaken. Owing to size, complexity, and cost, these trials will need to be designed with valid noninvasive measures of subclinical disease processes as outcomes.

Here's one relating to the study of the influence of physical activity on cardiovascular disease from a historical standpoint. You may be able to get the entire paper HERE, though it may be restricted to those logging in through the server of a school which has an electronic subscription:

Int J Epidemiol 2001 Oct;30(5):1184-92

  A history of physical activity, cardiovascular health and longevity: the scientific contributions of Jeremy N Morris, DSc, DPH, FRCP.

Paffenbarger RS Jr, Blair SN, Lee IM.
Division of Epidemiology, Stanford University School of Medicine,
Stanford, CA 94305-5405, USA.
paff@stanford.edu

Since Hippocrates first advised us more than 2000 years ago that exercise-though not too much of it--was good for health, the epidemiology of physical activity has developed apace with the epidemiological method itself. It was only in the mid-20th century that Professor Jeremy N Morris and his associates used quantitative analyses, which dealt with possible selection and confounding biases, to show that vigorous exercise protects against coronary heart disease (CHD). They began by demonstrating an apparent protection against CHD enjoyed by active conductors compared with sedentary drivers of London double-decker buses. In addition, postmen seemed to be protected against CHD like conductors, as opposed to less active government workers. The Morris group pursued the matter further, adapting classical infectious disease epidemiology to the new problems of chronic, non-communicable diseases. Realizing that if physical exercise were to be shown to contribute to the prevention of CHD, it would have to be accomplished through study of leisure-time activities, presumably because of a lack of variability in intensities of physical work. Accordingly, they chose typical sedentary middle-management grade men for study, obtained 5-minute logs of their activities over a 2-day period, and followed them for non-fatal and fatal diseases. In a subsequent study, Morris et al. queried such executive-grade civil servants by detailed mail-back questionnaires on their health habits and health status. They then followed these men for chronic disease occurrence, as in the earlier survey. By 1973 they had distinguished between 'moderately vigorous' and 'vigorous' exercise. In both of these civil service surveys, they demonstrated strong associations between moderately vigorous or vigorous exercise and CHD occurrence, independent of other associations, in age classes 35-64 years. In the last 30 years, with modern-day computers, a large number of epidemiological studies have been conducted in both sexes, in different ethnic groups, in broad age classes, in a variety of social groups, and on most continents of the world. These studies have extended and amplified those of the Morris group, thereby helping to solidify the cause-and-effect evidence that exercise protects against heart disease and averts premature mortality.

*Normal weight (BMI 20-25), overweight (25-29), obese (30 and above). Of course, these are for people who aren't athletes like football players or body builders who may have a high BMI but relatively low percentage body fat.