Obese people are prone to many health risks due to associated diseases of obesity. A new study has found that it may develop pancreatic cancer among older adults.
Researchers who carried out a study at the US National Cancer Institute found that severely obese adults were more likely to develop pancreatic cancer by about 45 percent than normal weight adults in a period of five years.
Researchers reported that women have higher risk to develop this disease due to abdominal obesity. Their report is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
What is Pancreatic Cancer?
It is a very deadly cancer in which most of the patients die within five years after its diagnosis. The risk factors that may cause this disease include smoking, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and its association with type 2 diabetes.
According to researchers, obesity is being linked to pancreatic cancer due to diabetes factor.
Method of Study
Researchers collected the data of more than 300,000 adults in the age group 50-71 years who do not have any cancer. Out of these adults, nearly 654 adults developed pancreatic cancer over a period of five years.
It was found that risk for cancer among adults was proportional to their BMI (body mass index) levels. Among women, those with big waist size were found more at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Researchers do not found any relation between risk for pancreatic cancer and low physical activity among adults. However, they believe that it may need more research to prove any relation between less physical activity and development of pancreatic cancer.
Researchers were of the opinion that regular physical activity would lower the risk of pancreatic cancer, as regular physical exercise normally helps maintain weight and contain type 2 diabetes.
Brief Description
A new research relates obesity to development of higher pancreatic risks among older adults.
