Obesity linked to 13 types of cancer

By: Sean Dowling

It's common knowledge that being overweight is bad for your health, but how much damage do those surplus pounds actually cause?

Health experts have linked being overweight to 8 additional types of cancer, with the overall list being as high as 13.

A review of over 1,000 studies backs the claim. The research was conducted by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Here's the full list:

1. Gastric Cancer

2. Liver Cancer

3. Gallbladder Cancer

4. Pancreatic Cancer

5. Ovarian Cancer

6. Thyroid Cancer

7. Blood Cancer (Multiple Myeloma)

8. Brain Cancer (Meningioma)

9. Uterine Cancer

10. Kidney Cancer

11. Colorectal Cancer

12. Breast Cancer (in postmenopausal women)

13. Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus

Experts also confirmed that for some of these cancers, as your weight increases, so does the risk. They found that the risk for breast cancer increases by an additional 10% for every 5 body mass index points over 30.

Health experts hope this new research helps people understand that diet and exercise are just as important as not smoking. Thankfully, authors of the study found that obese people who lose weight appeared to reduce their cancer risk.

Scroll through for more pictures on the obesity epidemic:

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