Obesity and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and certain types of cancer

Abstract

Obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancers are the most common chronic diseases. Data collected by world organizations for protection and promotion of health show a rapid increase in the prevalence of these illnesses over the last few decades. The rapid increase in prevalence of excess body weight globally is believed to be related to the growing proportion of people living in urban areas and the resulting changes in dietary and physical activity patterns.

The epidemic of overweight and obesity and the clear connection between raised BMI and many non-communicable diseases (such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancers) make this issue a public health priority all over the world.

Estimates of future overweight and obesity prevalence assume that while keeping the current growth rate of prevalence, the numbers of people affected around the globe will rise to 2.16 billion for overweight and 1.12 billion for obesity in 2030. These numbers combined will constitute 58% of the world’s population. Considering the above, we should expect a proportional increase in prevalence of the most serious health consequences of overweight and obesity — type 2 diabetes mellitus and some cancers, including breast cancer in postmenopausal women, endometrial, colonic and renal cancers.

In this paper we discussed the available data on prevalence of overweight and obesity and analysed a causal relationship between excess body weight, type 2 diabetes mellitus and selected types of malignancies.