Obesity, Lifestyle, Physical in-activity & cancer.. “Partners in Crime”

Have you lately heard that a near–dear one just got diagnosed with Cancer? Are you hearing about cancers more often than before? Then you should also hear that 20-40% of cancers are preventable. In the United Kingdom, OBESITY has just replaced Smoking as the No. 1 cause of cancer.

Obesity is the new kid on the block who is giving tough competition to smoking to be the No. 1 causative factor for various types of cancers. Dr. Archit Pandit is a Surgical Oncologist at MAX Institute of Cancer Care in Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, and he feels it’s all about the changing lifestyle, the food habits, the changing culture, and most importantly, the physical inactivity in this part of the world.

The following are some examples that you can relate to in our day-to-day lifestyle that have changed from how they were a couple of decades back.

1. Dietary Habits and Changing Lifestyle

Interestingly, our refrigerator design has changed.

I remember when I was a kid 3 decades back, the freezer compartment in the refrigerators occupied only 10 to 20% of the whole storage area as compared to the present-day freezer compartment, which occupies almost 50% of the refrigerator area.

The need for more freezer space is not just about style, but it means we are having more frozen foods and more preserved food.

Ever remember your mother in the early 90’s serving ready-to-eat convenient food?

W.H.O. (World Health Organization) has listed Processed meat (Transformed, Fermented, Smoking, Curing, Preservatives, Adding nitrates and salting) as carcinogenic to Humans.

2. Physical Inactivity

I remember myself in the early 90’s playing football in the lawn in front of my house and coming back home completely drenched in sweat and red-faced, unlike nowadays where we have the whole football ground captivated in a mobile phone or a video game at home.

Physical inactivity and obesity in children are on the rise in India.

With around 14 million obese children, India has the second highest number of obese children in the world, next to China.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is around 15%.

Researches have studied very closely the relation of obesity and overweight with cancer.

In a meta-analysis of 52 studies done in 2009, published in the British Journal of Cancer, a reduction by 24% in certain cancers was observed in physically active individuals.

3. Obesity

Excess weight is associated with an increased risk of many types of cancer.

It is estimated around 20% of cancers are caused due to excessive weight and obesity.

Dr. Archit Pandit goes on to say that,

“Mind you these 20% cancers are preventable.”

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that the strength of evidence is high enough to establish a correlation of obesity and cancer.

Especially:

• Stomach cancers
• Food pipe cancers
• Colon cancers
• Ovarian cancers
• Endometrial cancers
• Gall bladder cancers
• Pancreatic cancers
• Thyroid cancers
• Post-menopausal breast cancers

Colon cancer, which was a cancer of the western world around 3 decades back, is now very frequently seen in the Indian population because of changing diet patterns in Indian dietary habits and the rising trend of obesity, especially in children.

4. Dietary Causes

Of course, adulteration is one of the key factors in developing cancer.

The milk we drink in India comes with lots of question marks. However, we are not discussing these issues here because most of the time they are not in our control.

We will be discussing dietary issues which we can avoid.

Ever remember 3 decades ago Mc-D’s, Pizza chains, and the famous Big B’s of burgers never existed?

The diet used to be more of age-old Indian masalas, turmeric, ginger, and all those micronutrients which used to come along.

A study published in 2016 also went on to state that Sambar, which is a South Indian curry, protects against Colon cancer.

Sambar, as we all know, is an ideal example of the vegetables and the Indian masalas that it contains.

5. What’s Healthy and Unhealthy Diet

Researchers have studied healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns.

Mediterranean diet (High fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole wheat bread, fish and olive oil) was associated with a 5 to 12% reduction in risk of cancer.

However, Western diet (Ultra-processed food, packaged breads, packaged snacks, sodas, processed meat, red meat, high-fat, nitrite preservative foods, frozen meals) has higher risk of cancer incidence.

Changing Lifestyle Around Us

The above five listed issues are relatively new to our part of the world.

Parents in their 40’s and above will be able to relate how we were 30 years back and where we are now.

• The freezers have taken over most of the refrigeration requirements.
• Copper cooking utensils are now extinct, which could provide us a scourge of micronutrients.
• X-Boxes and mobile phones have replaced the sweat and the joy of outdoor gaming.
• Dietary patterns have changed to more modern and convenient frozen foods.

Summary

Obesity and Cancer

• Obesity is known to be related directly or indirectly to approximately 20% of cancers, and these cancers are preventable.

Dietary Changing Pattern

• Indian dietary pattern changing into more of a western dietary pattern.
• Fatty diet and more carcinogenic food habits are increasingly being formed as a part of the diet.

Physical Inactivity

• More X-Box’s and video gaming are replacing the joys of childhood outdoor sports.
• Resulting into more physical inactivity and, in turn, obesity.

Healthy Eating

Mediterranean food is considered healthy in research.

• High on fruits
• Fresh vegetables
• Nuts
• Legumes and protein diet
• Whole wheat breads
• Unprocessed food
• Less of animal/saturated fats
• Olive oil-based food
• Less of Soda’s
• Less of Junk food