Obesity and cancer risks

Dr. Turin Chowdhury

Research findings during the last few years changed the scientists' thinking about the relationship between overweight and obesity to cancer mortality. It seems to be a well-recognised assumption now that after tobacco smoking obesity is emerging as the second quantitatively most important cause of cancer. This is taken to be a strong possibility at least in the West. But with the continuous Westernisation in our lifestyle specially the diet and physical activity habit the risk burden will also be a threat to people of Bangladesh.
   
   What is obesity?
   Obesity is defined as an overload of body fat which frequently causes significant impairment of health status. It should not merely be considered a cosmetic problem; rather obesity should be considered a pre-disease condition. It means that the person having excessive body fat is putting his or her health at risk.
   
   What is cancer?
   Cancer in general is a condition characterised by abnormal cell growth. If the conditions of this abnormal growth of cells are allowed to continue unchecked the endless replication leads to death or fatal malfunction in the organ. This uncontrolled growth towards the other parts of the body causes the cancer cells to spread in normal terms.
   
   Determining BMI
   The most acknowledged international standard for determining obesity is the "body-mass index (BMI)". The BMI compares one's height with one's weight. Along with the waist size it is used to check whether a person's weight condition is within the optimal range or not.
   BMI is defined as one's weight in kilograms divided by the square of one's height in meters. The category in which a person falls according to his or her BMI is shown in the table below:
   
   BMI Category
   Less than 18.5 Underweight
   18.5 - 24.9 Healthy
   25.0 - 29.9 Overweight
   30.0 - 39.9 Obese
   More than 40 Critically obese
   Which types of cancer?
   It is thought that in general obesity increases the likelihood of developing the following cancers by 25 to 33 percent:
   Breast cancers during the post-menopausal period
   Colon cancers
   Endometrial cancers
   Esophageal cancers
   Kidney cancers
   Prostate cancers
   But recent researches suggest that cancer deaths may not be confined to malignancies with known links to additional body weight such as breast and colorectal cancers. Studies identified many cancers not previously associated with obesity including stomach cancer multiple myeloma non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and cancers of the cervix ovary liver and pancreas. There is every possibility that the list will be longer as the researches in this regard continues.
   
   Obesity and cancer
   Some studies have shown that obesity problem negatively affects one's prognosis (chance of recovery) of cancer. For example obese men have more chance to be diagnosed with advanced stage prostate cancer. In a research conducted in the United States researchers found that 14 per cent of all cancer deaths among men and 20 per cent of all cancer deaths in women were associated with being overweight or obese. For almost all cancers the risk of death increased as body mass did. In comparison to the men and women of normal weight the heaviest men and women in the study were 52 per cent and 62 per cent more likely to die of cancer respectively.
   This research and findings or similar researches around the world have show that the obese people are more vulnerable towards the death caused by cancer. A clear association between obesity and cancer mortality seems to be present.
   On the other hand it is also well established that there is an epidemic of obesity in the United States and it is a growing problem throughout the Western world. Thus the cancer mortality is expected to be in the rise in these parts of the world.
   
   How obesity affects
   The following factors may explain how obesity affects cancer risk:
   (1) Obese people tend to undergo fewer cancer screenings possibly because they wish to avoid seeing a doctor or because some screening tests such as Mammography may be more difficult to perform. For many cancers regular screening can help diagnose cancers early when the chance of successful treatment is better.
   (2) Often people who are obese experience co-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, which may disguise signs and symptoms of cancer.
   (3) In some cases undergoing surgery or other types of cancer treatment may be difficult or impossible for patients who are obese.
   (4) People who are obese have more fat tissue which can produce more hormones such as insulin and estrogen. These hormones may cause the growth and development of cancer cells.
   
   Fighting obesity
   To fight overweight or obesity problem the most important tool is to start a healthy lifestyle and sticking to it. A healthy lifestyle will keep not only bring the weight down to an optimal level but also will keep us away from other disease conditions as well. Lifestyle modification should be undertaken in multiple fronts -- diet habit, physical habit and mental habit.
   
   Diet habit
   Eat less at the initial stage. Reduce rate of eating.
   Those who need to reduce their weight due to overweight problem o\can start vegetarian diet as a first step to reduce weight. Increase the proportions of fresh fruit vegetables in daily diet.
   Limit the amount of fats sugar in diet.
   After achieving a healthy weight maintain the eating rate.
   
   Physical habit
   Get exercise everyday. Some examples of good ways to exercise include walking house and yard work running swimming jumping rope and bicycling.
   Establish reasonable exercise goals.
   Develop a plan for regular activity.
   Integrate increased activity into daily lifestyle. Like walk short distances instead of taking Rickshaw do your own day to day house works instead of ordering the house helpers etc.
   
   Mental habit
   The weight problem will not be and can not be solved over night. So we need patience for the success. There are no short cuts or no magic way to loose weight. It needs continuous effort to fight the overweight or obesity problem. In this fight mental strength is very crucial for the long term success.
   Develop reasonable weight-loss goals.
   Manage mental stress properly and smoothly. Get involved in some good hobbies with physical activities in it. Be social. Try to have an active social life. Etc.

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Social experiment

Rayyan Kamal

Is there a negative correlation between genius and social skills? If you can multiply three-digit numbers in your head and solve a Rubik's Cube in record time should you be one of those spectacle-wearing, acne-plagued dorks who wears pants up higher than his belly button and has more hairs growing out of his nostrils than he does on his hair? You better hope so, otherwise you'll have no readily identifiable flaws and no one likes a person who has no qualities worth mocking. Brains and beauty should be mutually exclusive.
   It's with this assumption that I consider the least liked people on campus. They're often the ones who are not lacking in either area, know this, and make sure those around them never remain in the dark regarding the fact either. A good friend of mine said there's nothing worse than a dorky genius who (wrongly) believes himself to also be a hit with the ladies. I disagree. I think there's nothing worse than a good-looking genius who is also socially-adept.
   In any case, it seems that Yale is seriously considering increasing the size of its student body by twelve percent in the next few years. The construction of two more residential colleges has been proposed. According to the Dean of Admissions, this expansion will allow the college to admit more of the highly qualified applicants it must turn away every year due to facility constraints. The cynic might ask, "Won't it also increase the amount you earn in tuition fees?" Surprisingly, the answer is "no." Apparently, on average Yale spends more on each student annually than the amount paid to the college by those on no financial aid, a figure that exceeds $42,000 per year.
   So this is an utterly selfless endeavor then? Perhaps. But let's not forget that it will also allow the university to admit more legacies (applicants that have parents who attended Yale), an action that pleases alumni, many of whom have deep pockets they're willing to lighten by donating to their alma mater.
   At the same time, one can't help but wonder how much more money a college possessing a $23 billion endowment needs. David Swensen, the university's endowment manager, is responsible increasing the endowment from about $1 billion in the 80's to $23 billion now. When the internet bubble crashed in 2000 and the average return was below zero, he boasted a positive and significant return. In fact, the man was a guest lecturer at my financial theory class last week. He's originally from Wisconsin, which automatically makes you conclude that he's provincial. He also seemed relatively humble. Of course the class was too busy scribbling down everything he said in case he unwittingly blurted out a millionaire-making investment strategy to care about his demeanor. We were disappointed. But he did say that part of the reason his investment strategy did as well as it did was because it was a secret. If the whole world knew, his competitive advantage would be gone.
   Rayyan Kamal is a sophomore at Yale University.

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Indian politics and economy are not as shining as its cinema and cricket are. India has come a long way. Since 1947, many charismatic leaders served as her prime ministers. They all tried to sustain the democracy it is proud of. India is the largest democracy. And this makes her responsibility towards 'sustaining' democracy more profound. It is served with the much cherished opportunity to lead this region in 'peace' and 'development' rather than become absorbed in 'arms race' and 'economic imperialism'.
   Each government tried to fight the scourge of poverty, which coexists with her democracy since 1947. Till date the economic boom has failed to tear the tag of poverty. A few years ago the BJP government launched "India Shining" campaign. But it faced a strong opposition and a lot of flak for obvious reasons. It was comprehensible that the BJP government actually launched this gimmick to garner votes.
   It is to a large extent true that India has made stupendous economic strides over the years. The successive governments could not ignore the continuous need of development from all corners of the country. Amidst poverty India went nuke; so it is now a power, however small, to reckon with.
   Economic indicators show a positive growth. Economists however say, the real economic advancement took off from the early nineties following the economic liberalisation at that time. Since early nineties the country has managed to maintain a steady economic growth rate and an enviable forex reserve. The economic masters view this growth as a result of rapid industrialization in many sectors coupled by governments deregulation policies. The economic success can be primarily attributed to rapid growth in industries, especially in the information technology sector, and the government's deregulation policies.
   But the main beneficiary of the boom is certainly not the majority of the toiling Indians. Their poverty graph remains the same. The vast landscape of India is a dual scene of natural beauty and poverty. The touch of economic growth is felt in the rising Indian middle class. By 2010, the middle class population is expected to touch 300 million.
   India is a good place minus the communal parties in Indian politics. The social life is set and pacing along well with people busy in meeting ends. Food is still cheaper than other places of the region. The shopping malls and markets are equally accessible for all classes.
   Kolkata still stands tall with its old aristocracy. Bangalore is known as an Indian Silicon Valley. Other places are catching up with the pace of development. The Western wind is blowing everywhere in the upper middle class. The visible economic prosperity is setting new benchmarks in luxury and facilities for the urban middle class. They seem to be buoyant and are now more confident that India will go on rising.
   It is actually the poverty level that matters most when measuring the economic development. The GDP and other indictors are all determined taking into consideration the whole populace. The question now is: has the economic growth percolated down to the poor?
   One cannot ignore the conditions of the less fortunate. The papers show poverty in India is on the decline but reality is far from the truth.
   An Indian observes, "There's no escaping the fact that there are still millions of Indians who have no access to health facilities, education and social protection. The country needs to concentrate on doing away with income inequalities and other disparities. Instead of adopting cosmetic measures, the Indian government needs to create more job opportunities for the poor and the underprivileged and make education accessible to all. More importantly, there's a lot that needs to be done to weed out corruption in public offices, which is a main hindrance to government money reaching the poor."
   Indians are proud to have a lady as their President, and India has set an example by having a lady president. But now India should do more to ensure women's rights and security. The escalating violence against women has to be addressed soon as it is on the rise. Many in India still believe that a girl child is a burden on the family.

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