Obesity threatens U.S. progress against cancer: CDC report

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The rate of new cancer cases in the United States has decreased since the 1990s, but increases in overweight- and obesity-related cancers are likely slowing this progress, according to a new report released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report found that in 2014, about 630,000 Americans were diagnosed with a cancer associated with overweight and obesity, representing 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed.

Overweight- and obesity-related cancer incidence rates were higher among older persons than younger persons and two thirds of cases occurred among persons aged 50 to 74 years.

The rate was also higher among females (55 percent) than among males (24 percent), partially because endometrial, ovarian, and postmenopausal female breast cancers accounted for 42 percent of overweight and obesity-related cancers.

Overall, the rates of obesity-related cancers, not including colorectal cancer, increased by seven percent between 2005 and 2014, while the rates of non-obesity related cancers declined by 13 percent during that time.

Colorectal cancer decreased 23 percent, due in large part to screening.

"A majority of American adults weigh more than recommended -- and being overweight or obese puts people at higher risk for a number of cancers -- so these findings are a cause for concern," CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald said in a statement.

"By getting to and keeping a healthy weight, we all can play a role in cancer prevention," Fitzgerald said.

According to the CDC, in 2013 and 2014, about two thirds of U.S. adults were overweight or had obesity and many people are not aware that being overweight and having obesity are associated with some cancers.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has identified 13 cancers associated with overweight and obesity: meningioma, multiple myeloma, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, and cancers of the thyroid, postmenopausal breast, gallbladder, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, ovaries, uterus and colorectal.