Can losing weight reduce your risk of cancer?

You probably already know that carrying extra weight increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. But did you know that excess body fat can also increase your risk of certain types of cancer?

Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke: These are commonly ranked as reasons to lose a little weight. Increasingly, research has found that lowering your risk of cancer is another good reason to boost your commitment to taking off the pounds.

Excess body fat is considered a risk factor for these cancers:

• Colorectal cancer
• Cancer of the esophagus and the portion of the stomach closest to the esophagus (gastric cardia)
• Kidney cancer
• Postmenopausal breast cancer
• Endometrial cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Thyroid cancer
• Liver cancer
• Gallbladder cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• A specific blood cancer (multiple myeloma)
• A type of brain tumor (meningioma)

Being overweight or obese doesn't just affect your risk of developing cancer. It also results in poorer treatment outcomes, more complications from treatments, worse prognoses and higher rates of cancer-related deaths.

What you can do

If you are overweight, losing weight may reduce your risk of some types of cancer.

The two best ways are to eat a healthy diet and move more. Go for balanced, plant-based meals instead of processed foods, and get physical activity every day. Make small changes you can stick with. Your goal is to change your habits for good, and that takes time.