Does Dramatic Weight Reduction also Reduce Cancer Risk?

Posted: Oct 05 in Obesity and your Health by Staff

In an age where obesity has become a major health issue and traditional methods of treatment have provided limited success, bariatric surgery has emerged as a leading method for achieving long-term weight control. People seeking bariatric surgery often cite a desire for better health as their main motivation.

The potential health risks from obesity have been well documented and the risk of developing some forms of cancer is known to be increased in obese people. Whether achieving significant weight loss reduces the risk of cancer is a question that has been difficult to answer.

Researchers at the University of Utah studied almost 10,000 gastric bypass patients in an attempt to compare their rates of cancer with a control group that had not had surgery. All study participants were cancer free at the start of the study.

The study spanned a 23 year period and showed that patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery had 46% fewer deaths from cancer than those who did not receive bariatric surgery.

Previous studies have demonstrated reduced cancer rates in women undergoing either gastric bypass or gastric banding. Whether the type of bariatric surgery performed has an effect on cancer rates has not been shown through research. However, it is reasonable to expect that significant weight loss by any means will show a similar reduction in cancer rates.