Research

Hormonal

Excess weight (overweight or obesity) and lack of sufficient physical activity are associated with increased incidence of several cancers, including adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, colon and rectum, kidney, pancreas, postmenopausal female breast, and endometrial cancer.

Maintain a healthy weight and engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. This is not just about appearance; it is a primary defense against several types of cancer, including breast, colon, kidney, and pancreatic cancers. The risk increases significantly with higher BMI and lower activity levels.

StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
A rigorous review of more than 7000 studies on the relation between nutrition, physical activity, excess weight, and cancer risk concluded that there is convincing evidence of an association between excess weight and increased risk of several cancers, including adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, colon and rectum cancer, kidney cancer, pancreas cancer, postmenopausal female breast cancer, and endometrial cancer.
Christie R. Eheman et al. · Cancer · 2012

Why this rating

Based on a rigorous review of more than 7000 studies and comprehensive meta-analyses, establishing 'convincing evidence' per IARC standards.

Source

Annual Report to the Nation on the status of cancer, 1975‐2008, featuring cancers associated with excess weight and lack of sufficient physical activity

Christie R. Eheman et al. · Cancer · 2012

DOI 10.1002/cncr.27514

narrative_reviewCited 458×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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