Obesity Will Take Over Smoking As A Leading Source Of Cancer

Y.S. Rana

The writer is a Hamirpur based Himachali settled in Chandigarh

Just as ‘Swachh Bharat’, we also need a ‘Swasath India’ campaign, if one goes by the report of World Obesity Federation (WOF) released on World Obesity Day on October 11. The situation in the country is not yet so scary, but the burden of obesity and its consequences are increasing in hilly areas as well. In India up to one-fourth of all cancers (25%) may be directly or indirectly linked to obesity, says Harit Chaturvedi, a cancer care specialist at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saker, New Delhi. According to WOF’s report, the percentage of Indian adults living with obesity is set to jump to around 10% (3.1% male and 6.9% female) by 2025 from 7.5% in 2014. People should encourage to eat and live healthy. It further states India will spend US $ 13 million annually for treating obesity related illnesses by 2025.

The cumulative cost from up to 2025 is expected to be around US $ 90 billion. World-wide trends in body mass index (BMI) from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128.9 million children, adolescents and adults has revealed the trend. The report warns that the problem of weight gain is not to take lightly, even though the unending and often too-good-to-be-true solutions coming from the ever burgeoning weight management industry seem to suggest so. Be warned — for a few extra kilos today can multiply tomorrow, putting you at increased risk of many diseases, including cancer. These include cancers of the breast (in postmenopausal women), ovary, colon and rectum, liver, kidney, pancreas, gastric cardia, oesophagus (food pipe), and endometrium of the uterus, as well as advanced prostate cancer, cancers of the gallbladder and thyroid, and multiple myeloma (blood cancer) and meningioma brain tumour, according to a report by the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

New research states that obesity is poised to overtake smoking as the leading cause of cancer in the coming years. In fact, so enormous has been the burden of obesity-related cancers that in some countries in the western world, they account for close to half of all cancers. In the US, overweight and obesity-related cancers make up 40% of all cancers, according to a report of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in October.

“The cases are more common in urban areas and metropolitan cities, where the diet is rich in saturated fat content and lifestyle is rather more sedentary.” “Obesity alters the intrinsic hormonal milieu, thereby disturbing the cell cycle control. This, in turn, affects the various check points of cancer control in the body, making them ineffective and rendering a person prone to develop cancers,” Chaturvedi said.

“Women are more at risk of obesity-related cancers because of periodic shift in the hormonal balance in their body. Also, the feminine body has more adipose (fat) tissue content which interacts with certain intrinsic factors making them more prone to cancers,” Chaturvedi said. Under-weight, over weight and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with adverse health consequence throughout the life-cycle. So do not forget to put on your running shoes every day or engage in other physical activities.

Excess Energy Intake Is Main Factor

The IARC report highlights that the excess of energy intake over energy expenditure is the main driver of weight gain. So, during adulthood, the maintenance of a stable body weight depends on the energy derived from food and drink (energy intake) being equal to the total energy expenditure over time. This report shows that excess energy intake is the main responsible factor. “The most effective way to prevent obesity-related cancer would be by maintenance of the weight,” said Rajesh Kapoor, Director, Gastrointestinal & Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Surgery, Jaypee Hospital, Noida. Dietary patterns that include higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and unsaturated fat, as well as lower intakes of refined starch, red meat, trans and saturated fats, and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks can contribute to long-term weight control, according to the IARC.

Himachal-o-Meter

The state’s ups and downs this week

Rs. 400 Crore Business On Dhanteras

Shimla: The markets at last were again abuzz with customers in Himachal on the occasion of Dhanteras amidst loud cries of GST pangs and price hike. People in Himachal made investment in gold, silver jewellery, utensils, electronic equipments, furniture and vehicles. The purchasing atmosphere during Dhanteras brought bouth customers and a sigh of relief to sarafa market. About Rs. 400 crores business was estimated on the occasion of Dhanteras in Himachal. People poured in large numbers for purchasing in Shimla, Solan, Mandi, Nahan, Sundernagar, Kangra, Bilaspur and Una. It definitely provided much needed boost to businessmen and market that is gfrappling with GST pangs. But still the business estimated this year on occasion of Dhanteras in much less than the business estimated on the same day  last year. About Rs. 700 crore business was estimated on occasion of dhanteras last year in Himachal Pradesh.

Fund Crunch Brings Swan Project Work To Halt

Una: The Swan project work has come to a halt despite Union Government releasing funds for the project. Notably Union Ministry of Water resources has released Rs. 54.63 crore for Swan project. But this amount is too little to even meet the liabilities of Rs 65 crore. The project, which was to be completed by March 2017, is not even half done due to delay in the central funding which is 70% of the project cost. The project was sanctioned in 2013-14 during the then UPA regime to protect the fragile soil of the Shivalik foothills from denudation during monsoons. As per the agreement, the centre and the state are to share the project cost in the ratio of 70:30 percent. The share of the Centre is Rs 646.5 crore while the state is to chip in Rs 275 crore to the project that involves laying of 390-km long stone-pitched embankments on the tributaries.  According to sources in the Flood Protection Department, the Centre has released only Rs 244 crore during the last five years.  As per departmental information, Rs 413 crore has already been spent on 162-km embankments. Moreover, the payment amounting to Rs 20 crore is still to be paid to contractors. A liability of Rs 65 crore exists which will only be partially met with the Rs 54.63 crore grant received from the centre.

Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘Divya Himachal TV’. Also,  Download our Android App