Research
Hormonal
Obesity induces a chronic low-grade inflammatory state characterized by macrophage infiltration and elevated proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β), which promotes cancer development through NF-κB activation and growth factor signaling.
Maintaining a healthy weight helps reduce chronic inflammation, which is a known biological driver of cancer risk. While weight management is complex, reducing excess adipose tissue can lower the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and hormones that promote tumor growth.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Obesity is associated with a chronic low-grade state of inflammation that is attributed to increased fatty acids, inflammatory cytokine production, and an influx of immune cells, such as macrophages, that also produce inflammatory mediators.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple prospective studies and mechanistic in vitro/in vivo data cited in the review.
Source
The growing challenge of obesity and cancer: an inflammatory issue
Alison E. Harvey et al. · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2011
DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06096.x
narrative_reviewCited 269×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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