Overweight and obesity cause cancer in a variety of ways. The fat cells accumulated in the human body produce hormones and growth factors that spread around the body with the bloodstream. These hormones and growth factors can cause different cancers and accelerate the growth of cancer cells.
The fatty tissue accumulated around the waist, in particular, is harmful in terms of cancer, because the action of fat accumulated around the internal organs is greater than is the case with the rest of the body’s fat
”Abundant adipose tissue (loose connective fat) causes a mild inflammatory condition in the body.”
Insulin is an important hormone that regulates glucose metabolism and how we obtain energy from food. Overweight increases levels of insulin and its derivatives in the blood. This can cause an uncontrolled distribution of cells and so increase the risk of cancer.
Fat cells also increase the amount of the sex hormone oestrogen in the body. In women, high oestrogen levels increase the risk of breast cancer after menopause.
A large amount of adipose tissue causes a mild inflammatory condition in the body, which increases the risk of cancer. This inflammatory condition contributes to harmful changes in cellular activity. Obesity also weakens the action of the body’s own defense mechanism, the immune system.