Obesity and Cancer, What’s the Connection?
I am hooked on this connection theme!
I have a confession to make. I do not have a schedule for the next year, or even for the next month of newsletter topics (yet, though I do intend to rectify that!)…so for each issue I wait for inspiration. My inspiration for this issue came from another newsletter, News You Can Use, the Wellness Forum Health weekly newsletter written by WFH founder and CEO Pam Popper. You can check them out and subscribe here.
I have mentioned before that I am an affiliate of Wellness Forum Health and they are a primary source I use to share information and education with my clients. Several years ago, they started an annual cancer awareness/prevention program. While this time of year (well, October particularly) we are barraged with pink ribbons claiming that cancer screening, i.e. “early detection”, saves lives, that messaging misses the mark. Except for cervical cancer screening (Pap tests), cancer screening has not lowered the death rate of the cancers that are screened for. They also can often give someone a false sense of security that they can “keep doing what they are doing” if their screening test is “negative”. Screening tests fail to address, encourage or educate about how to truly minimize your risk for cancer.
The WFH annual prevent cancer campaign actually does just that…it shares evidence about screening tests for cancer, and educates and empowers you to actually take steps to help yourself prevent cancer. All you must do is commit to learn.
In this newsletter, when I can I like to relate health information to high weight (typically known as “overweight and obesity”)
Almost anywhere you look you can find an article about how obesity increases your risk of cancer. It’s one of those “everybody knows” issues. If you’ve been reading my newsletter for a while, YOU know that ‘EVERYBODY KNOWS” is a red flag. As with morbidity and mortality (illness and death) in general, the connection between cancer occurrence or cancer death and obesity is complex and not completely understood. Many behaviors or influences that contribute to obesity also increase risk for cancer and BMI (the standard for assessing weight status) and even adiposity (fatness) have only been definitively linked to a few cancers.
I will explain in this newsletter, how adipose tissue (fat) influences the development and growth of cancer-I think it’s important information to know. What I will share though, is a caution against thinking that the answer to mitigate that risk is “weight loss”.
Let’s Chew The Fat
First off, fat is not fat is not fat.
- BAT, brown adipose tissue (brown fat) is more active in infants and young children and is responsible for non-shivering thermogenesis (creating heat).
- WAT, white adipose tissue is found extensively throughout the body and is responsible for creating and storing energy. When we take in excess energy (calories) we store fat. WAT is either SAT or VAT (subcutaneous or visceral).
- SAT is typically found on hips and thighs (more peripheral) while visceral fat is abdominal, packed in the omentum which holds the internal organs together.
- Metabolically VAT is more inflammatory, while SAT is more protective. (uber simplified here). But where you carry your fat, regardless of your weight bears some importance, with fat you wear more centrally (VAT) associated with greater risk.
Fat and Cancer
Fat increases the risk for cancer in 3 main biologic ways.
- Adipose tissue functions like an endocrine organ, resulting in secretion of hormones, like estrogen. Adipose tissue produces aromatase, which converts androgens (produced by adrenal glands) to estrogen. This can increase risk of cancer of estrogen sensitive tissue, like breasts, ovaries and uterus (endometrium).
Interesting note: The risk of breast cancer is inversely associated with obesity in pre-menopausal women, but positively associated with obesity in post-menopausal women.
- Hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin in the blood) that result from elevated BMI, stimulates the growth function of insulin and prolongs the action of IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor). If you consider cancer as the uncontrolled growth of certain types of cells, then you can see how higher levels of insulin and IGF-1 might be like adding gas to a fire.
- Adipose tissue secretes multiple inflammatory substances (cytokines or more accurately adipokines). One powerful cytokine is leptin, which is very pro-inflammatory, proliferative (promotes cell growth) and anti-apoptotic (which means it works against the cells natural ability to destroy dysfunctional, damaged, old or less scientifically… “wonky” cells that aren’t behaving as they should. Apoptosis is a built-in survival mechanism at the cellular level. The inflammatory cytokines produced by adipose tissue can change the cellular environment of existing tumors making it more favorable for the cancer cells. Adipocytes (fat cells) can become “CAA’s” or cancer associated adipocytes that actually function to provide energy and support to the cancer cells. (not.good).
This information is shared to inform and support you-not to blame or shame you. No ONE thing causes cancer, not even smoking. Soooo many things influence how our body works: environmental things, social things, emotional things and biological things!
Is Weight Loss the Answer?
So while it is easy to see a connection between obesity, or more accurately fatness, with cancer risk, that does not mean that weight loss is a good target for prevention or treatment.
Why not?
- The greatest predictor for weight gain is intentional weight loss.
- It is easy to lose weight, but over 90% of dieters maintain weight loss
- Weight cycling (gaining and losing, gaining and losing) causes an inflammatory response. (and who weight cycles? Those of high weight! This may impact morbidity and mortality numbers as well!)
- The body responds to restriction of calories or even perceived “lack” (even if you are choosing to not eat, forbid certain foods) or over-exercise with increased interest in food, increased appeal or tastiness of food, less desire to exercise, increased storage of FAT and decreased metabolism (“I better slow down my calorie burn, this human must be starving and I must save her!”)
The big but…
But we don’t want to get cancer, so what can we do? A lot!
Cancer Prevention 101
Avoid toxic environmental exposures:
- Avoid using or working with known cancer-causing toxins
- Avoid getting sunburns (but do get a tan and enjoy the sun without sunscreen-no burning)
- Eat animal foods 2-3 times/week at most, and when you eat them, eat organic or wild caught.
- Avoid x-ray exposure as much as possible. (of course, there are times when x-rays are necessary-they are a great tool we have, so I am not saying x-rays are bad!) but know that there is a risk. Risk of radiation exposure from mammography contributes to risk.
Interesting note: When my daughter was in high school, she had a lump on her breast that needed examined. The doctor and the radiologist were like “Oh we would never irradiate a teenager with a mammogram” but boy after 40 they will do it every year!
Eat lots of plants-
- one of their big super-powers is how ANTI-inflammatory they are!
- They “got the fiber” -this feeds a healthier microbiome, which helps the immune system function best (it is the immune system that does “surveillance” and gets rid of early cancer cells)
- They provide tons of anti-oxidants that help prevent that cell damage in the first place.
- They have tons of “magic stuff” (vitamins, minerals, and things we may not even know about!) that help our body work like it is intended to.
MOVE-there is nothing exercise doesn’t help.
Stay connected socially-in person as much as possible! (see the last issue of “Don’t Weight”) Social isolation and loneliness cause a release of those inflammatory cytokines and decrease immune function.
Live with a mindset of hope, gratitude, and recognition of your body’s amazing capacity to health and thrive. You really are quite remarkable! (As a woman thinketh…)
Ditch the dairy. Dairy products contain
- Casein, which has been shown to promote cancerous growth (in rats)
- IGF-1
- Estrogen
- Besides, dairy milk is for baby cows.
Optimize your health by following this Optimal Health-updated recipe….
Doing these things may very well result in weight loss, but they will all decrease your risk of developing cancer. And sustaining these behaviors does not result in rebounding and weight cycling with compounded weight gain!
Mindset Matters Most
Nobody likes the idea of being sick, debilitated, or of dying, or of having cancer. But I believe that those who profit from cancer screening and treatment have capitalized and inflamed that fear.
And while screening programs seem to keep expanding the eligibility for screening, cancer is said to be encroaching on heart disease for the #1 cause of death in the USA. In 2023 the number of cancer deaths increased. (so does screening save lives?)
Here is a list of the top ten leading causes of death in the US.
Take Control
One way we move out of fear is to develop a sense of control. You can learn what you need to learn to drastically reduce your risk of cancer. And then you can choose and commit to doing those things. Don’t be afraid, be informed!
I encourage you to learn by signing the WFH annual pledge “I commit to learning about cancer prevention”. When you pledge, you will receive admissio n to a live workshop (via Zoom) titled “What You Must Know About Cancer”
Topics covered in the workshop
- risk factors for cancer,
- common misperceptions about cancer
- steps you can take TODAY to lower your risk
- how to stay out of the “cancer medical mill”
2 options: Thurs Nov 14 at 8:00PM and Saturday November 23 at 2:00PM
Note: these workshops will be recorded and made available for 30 days
Additional benefits for taking the pledge: discounts on the WFH Virtual Conference Oct. 31-Nov 2 and/or other programs. Click here for details
Coaches Corner
Take a few moments to take stock of your self-care practices that protect you from most chronic illness, including cancer. Start with my recipe for optimal health. Go through each item and score yourself on a scale of 0-10. (zero-you are not addressing this issue or are working in opposition to it, 10=you are actively and consistently addressing this item in a positive, successful way.) Add up your total score, date it.
What unique risks are you aware of? Family history, exposure to carcinogen via work or some other situation (ex. The water supply at Camp Lejune was found to have been tainted with cancer causing chemicals) I don’t suggest considering these things to make yourself worried, but to encourage you to educate yourself about those risks, or get help to learn more about them and what you can do to protect yourself. Recognizing your risk can also provide motivation to take the very best care of yourself and give your body what it needs to heal and thrive.
Commit to take action in areas where you have control. Maybe some of the goals you are working on already will serve to help with cancer prevention as well. Most self-care goals do and all of the Recipe for Optimal Health “ingredients” do. Really acknowledge all of the things you are already doing that support you in this area. Schedule a date in your planner/calendar to rescore yourself and celebrate your progress! (Remember what you focus on grows!)
Stop the Presses! I want to share this with you!
I just listened to a Wellcoaches Webinar with Wellcoach Kimberly Herlehy. She discussed and demonstrated a few frameworks for habit changes based off of BJ Fogg’s work. One I want to share was the MAP framework. Considering some of the goals you might have for cancer prevention, MAP them out.
Consider your Motivation, Ability, and Prompt (reminders). This can help pinpoint where you want/need to direct your efforts. This is really helpful if you get “stuck” and just can’t seem to do what you desire to do.
- Motivation: do you really want to do this? Can you delay, dump or delegate it?
- Ability: CAN you do this? What do you need to learn, get, borrow, get rid of, to do this?
- Prompt: How can you remember to do this? Can you attach it to another habit, use your calendar, planner, your phone?
If you use this framework-let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear. Simply reply to this email.
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