Research
Hormonal
Obesity increases the risk of various cancers (e.g., breast, colorectal, liver) through mechanisms involving chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and altered adipokine secretion (e.g., increased leptin, decreased adiponectin).
Obesity increases your risk for several types of cancer through biological processes like inflammation and hormone imbalance. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce this risk by mitigating these specific biological factors.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Obesity is known to be associated with 13 types of cancer... The association of obesity with cancer is biologically complex... Many studies have indicated that obesity-related effects on DNA damage and/or repair pathways may be involved... Increased free fatty acids (FFAs) in the serum of obese individuals promote the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A)... resulting in insulin resistance and steatosis in the liver.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple meta-analyses and mechanistic studies cited in the review.
Source
Pathophysiology of obesity and its associated diseases
Xin Jin et al. · Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B · 2023
DOI 10.1016/j.apsb.2023.01.012
narrative_reviewCited 427×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Obesity contributes to cardiovascular disease (CVD) through mechanisms including adipose tissue dysfunction, ectopic fat deposition, and altered adipokine secretion (e.g., increased leptin, decreased adiponectin), leading to hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart failure.Strong
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