A landmark study recently linked being overweight with higher cancer risk. The study--called "Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective"-- is actually a second report, produced by the World Cancer Research Fund with the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Their first report, an influential work generated ten years ago, has been regarded as authoritative in its field. The tremendous influx of scientific literature, technological advances, new methodologies for evidence assessment and information on overweight/obesity and physical activity caused them to generate this second report, which was the result of a five-year process with an international panel of experts reviewing over 7,000 studies.

According to the second report summary, their intent was to "explore the extent to which food, nutrition, physical activity and body composition modify the risk of cancer" and "specify which factors are most important."

They found that as far as environmental factors influencing the risk of cancer--food, nutrition, physical activity--the disease is preventable. Cancer risks (such as breast, endometrial, colorectal, prostrate, pancreatic, esophagus) rise with excess body fat.

Every 1.7 ounces of processed meat consumed a day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21%.

People are not paying nearly enough attention to the relationship between obesity and increased cancer risk--according to Michael Thun, head of epidemiological research for the American Cancer Society, as reported in an USA Today article by Nanci Hellmich.

In that same article, cancer institute nutrition advisor Karen Collins said, "This was a much larger impact than even the researchers expected. People forget body fat is not an inert glob that we are carrying around on the waistline and thighs. It's a metabolically active tissue that produces substances in the body that promotes the development of cancer."

Collins went on to attribute carcinogens as well as nitrates and excess salt as probable reasons for the increased cancer risk from processed meats. Per the USA Today article, the "evidence linking red meat intake (beef, pork and lamb) to colorectal cancer is more convincing than it was a decade ago." The report recommends limiting red meat to 18 ounces of cooked meat per week since beyond that, the cancer risk goes up.

(re-printed with permission)

Dr. Alfred Randall Moss is both a physician and pharmacist, who developed this patient friendly weight loss program based on years experience in helping patients control their weight.