Obesity and cancer third most important risk factor for cancer in the United States, just behind tobacco and diet (see Figure). Obesity is the source of about 15% of all preventable cancers. In 2018, Chinese researchers performed a systematic review and comprehensive quantitative meta‐analysis of cohort studies reporting body mass index (BMI) and the risk of 23 cancer types, providing epidemiological evidence supporting the association between BMI and cancer risk. The strongest positive association between BMI and cancer risk was found among patients in North America. The mechanisms by which obesity may increase the risk of cancer are not well understood, but it
The Cancer Prevention and Education Society and what they mean for health and healthcare. The charity works hard to promote prevention as a way of reducing cancer and other diseases. It sees the success of reducing lung cancer by smoking cessation programmes as a text book example of how prevention can work effectively. It would like to see healthcare professionals advocating for the reduction of human exposure to hazardous agents found in pesticides, consumer products, the home & work place, and pollution. It sees as ‘role models’ the work of the Canadian Cancer Society and the resolution of the American Medical Association to ‘encourage the training