The Obesity Epidemic and Cancer in Africa

Document Type : Perspective

Authors

1 Rwanda Military Hospital, Department of Clinical Oncology, Kigali, Rwanda

2 Department of Clinical Oncology, Kasr Al-Ainy Center of Clinical Oncology & Nuclear Medicine, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

3 Palliative Medicine Unit, Kasr Al-Ainy Center of Clinical Oncology & Nuclear Medicine, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Overweight and obesity have increased since the 1980s. It reached 37% for men and 38% for women in 2013. The situation worsened for children and adolescents in developed countries. Recent reports showed that African and other developing nations are not immune from the devastating obesity epidemic.
Many studies revealed a relevant strong relationship between obesity and cancers such as esophageal, postmenopausal breast, colorectal and endometrial cancers. Obesity-related cancers have increased exceptionally in adolescents and young adults but decreased in more advanced ages.
Currently, cancer care services in Africa are still limited despite the rising demand; therefore, access to them is relatively
difficult for many cancer patients with low income. Considering the fact that some cancers may be preventable, we reviewed articles about obesity and cancer to highlight the magnitude of the problem and raise awareness among African leadership on the importance of cancer prevention measures targeting obesity.

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