CDC: Cancers Linked To Obesity Account For 40 Percent Of All US Cancer Cases

WASHINGTON — When it comes to obesity, studies often focus on the heart problems that can crop up as people age. New research now points to the cancer risks associated with weight: researchers discovered that of all the cancers diagnosed in the U.S. in 2014, 40 percent were related to overweight and obesity, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors and scientists know of 13 different types of cancer related to body weight and obesity. While the overall number of cancer-sufferers in America has fallen since the 1990s, increases in the proportion of those who suffer from cancers linked to an unhealthy body mass index are likely hurting those numbers.