Obesity and its Sequellae

Obesity is a growing problem. Obesity results in a massive amount of stress on all the human organs and systems and a decade ago we wrote extensively about its nexus to Type 2 Diabetes. Recently Cancer UK noted that obesity was a major "cause" for a variety of cancers. Specifically they stated:

Almost a third of UK adults are obese** and, while smoking is still the nation’s biggest preventable cause of cancer and carries a much higher risk of the disease than obesity, Cancer Research UK’s analysis revealed that being overweight or obese trumps smoking as the leading cause of four different types of cancer. Excess weight causes around 1,900 more cases of bowel cancer than smoking in the UK each year. The same worrying pattern is true of cancer in the kidneys (1,400 more cases caused by excess weight than by smoking each year in the UK), ovaries (460) and liver (180).
Cancer Research UK launched a nationwide campaign this week to increase awareness of the link between obesity and cancer. Extra body fat sends out signals that can tell cells to divide more often and, similar to smoking, can cause damage that builds up over time and raises the risk of cancer.

Strangely there has been a backlash by the "anti fat shaming" collective. The Telegraph notes:
 
However dozens of academics and nutritionists from institutions including the University of Cambridge, King’s College London and Bristol University have warned that the findings are flawed and may leave people feeling too embarrassed about their weight to seek medical help. In an open letter to Michelle Mitchell, the charity’s chief executive, the authors said: “For decades, advocates, researchers and clinicians have highlighted the importance of addressing the harmful effects of weight stigma and discrimination; your current campaign completely undermines this work.

“The campaign, which draws a comparison between smoking, weight and cancer risk, is not only inaccurate, it is harmful to people who are at a higher weight, including those with cancer. “Your campaign’s focus on weight as a leading cause of cancer is misleading. Body mass index (BMI) is a crude indicator of health and while there is an association between higher BMI and cancer, the reasons and mechanisms for this are unclear. 

Regrettably the nexus is all too clear. Colon, kidney, prostate, and pancreas are all driven by many of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in the obese individual. Decades of research have proven the nexus. Regrettably in my opinion the academic are all too often the single most cause of confusion, and possibly in the untimely death of many.