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Obesity
and colorectal cancer risk
Colorectal
cancer ranks second in causing deaths in adults residing in developed
countries. One of the major contributors to the same is being
obese. Though obesity can lead to a number of harmful diseases,
cancer is the most common of all. The relationship between being
overweight and having colon and rectal cancer was not determined
until recently. However, latest studies have proved a direct impact.
Leptin is a hormone signal that is sent by fat signals. A healthy
body produces normal levels of the hormone. However, when a person
is obese, it results in leptin resistance. This leads to a drastic
drop in adiponectin levels. Adiponectin is a protein hormone that
regularizes a number of metabolic functions like glucose production
and fatty acid breakdown. It may lead to type 2 diabetes. Leptin
also enhances the growth of cancer cells in obese people.
If you are obese, there are high chances of developing insulin
resistance. This is a condition in which several organs in the
body become resistant to the effects of insulin. Insulin helps
in the transportation of glucose into the cells. This is affected
in people who are overweight. The high levels of insulin can lead
to promotion of cancerous cells. Some tissues in the body are
more vulnerable to this type of resistance than others and the
colon is one of them.
The causes of diabetes and colon cancer are more or less similar.
Obese people tend to have excess weight around the waist. Apart
from this, the absence of any physical activities, partaking food
which is high in carbohydrates and low in fiber, presence of saturated
fat and sugar in the meals, etc. are the major contributors. If
you have diabetes and are obese, the chances of colorectal cancer
are high.
Digestive inflammation is another aspect in obese people which
may initiate colon cancer in a person. This is caused by the spreading
of inflamed digestive tissues which is due to the improper functioning
of the gene P-Cadherin. There are many ways by which this inflammation
can be prevented, some of them being regular exercise, avoiding
tobacco, having a healthy body, getting enough sleep, etc.
Colorectal cancer is more prominent in obese men than women. The
growth of these cancerous cells takes anywhere between 10 and
15 years. Therefore, there is a lot of time in which one can deal
with obesity and decrease the risk.
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