Waistline Fault Line

Research Links Abdominal Fat to Increased Cancer Risk

By Karen Collins

A new study takes the well-established link between overweight and increased risk of colon cancer one step further by suggesting that one particular type of body fat may be a major culprit.

Compared to fat around the hips and thighs, fat located around the waistline is more strongly associated with health risks like heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. However, all waistline fat may not be the same.

Researchers now express much greater concern about visceral fat tissue–the fat that accumulates in and around abdominal organs such as the liver. These fat cells, according to emerging science, are likely more harmful than those found in subcutaneous fat, the fat found just under the skin.

Abdominal fatness increases risk of some cancers more than others, colon cancer in particular. A recent study looked specifically at the link between the two types of abdominal fat and potential precancerous growths. Involving 200 men and women undergoing both a colonoscopy to screen for abnormal growths in the colon and a computed tomography (CT) scan of their abdomen and pelvis, the study separately measured the two different types of abdominal fat.

Results showed that the subjects who had abnormal growths had significantly larger waists than subjects without them; however, it was visceral fat that was most strongly linked to the potentially cancerous growths. People with the most visceral fat were more than four times as likely to have growths compared to those with the least visceral fat.

Why would visceral fat pose a greater health risk than other body fat? For starters, research shows that visceral fat is directly related to inflammation throughout the body, which has been linked to cancer and heart disease. Studies suggest that visceral fat tissue contains more macrophages, a type of immune cell that produces cytokines, a hormonelike protein implicated in chronic inflammation.

Cytokines may also increase cancer risk in several other ways: They can increase oxidative stress and boost free radical production (creating DNA damage, which could spark cancer development) and they can disturb insulin function (impairing both sugar and fat metabolism).

Without the help of a CT scan, most of us won’t be able to tell if a growing waistline is thanks to visceral or subcutaneous fat. Instead, focus on meeting current recommended guidelines for a healthy waist circumference. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), cancer risk increases at waist sizes greater than 31.5 inches for women and 37 inches for men.

In addition, maintaining a healthy weight is also essential. Some research suggests that weight loss can reduce production of inflammatory cytokines and increase expression of anti-inflammatory ones. Physical activity, which is key to weight control, may also have additional effects, including helping insulin to work more effectively.

Contributing editor Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, is a dietician with the American Institute for Cancer Research. For more information, visit AICR.org.

EATING SMART

Exposing only the face, hands and forearms to sunlight for 10 to 30 minutes, just two or three days a week, can usually produce all the vitamin D
we need. Source: AICR.org.

Kids Corner

News Impacting the Health of Children

kidscorner_drinks

The study conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America indicates past-month rates of alcohol use among high school students rose 11 percent between 2008 and 2009. These new numbers constitute evidence that underage drinking is a widespread and growing problem, despite the one-size-fits-all mandate of the 21-year-old drinking age.

The non-profit group Choose Responsibility urges lawmakers to consider fresh solutions, such as alcohol education and licensing programs, which will have a positive impact on the culture of toxic alcohol consumption among young people.

Choose Responsibility President John McCardell says since 1984, the federal highway funding restrictions attached to the 21-year-old drinking age have stifled debate about solutions to a public health crisis that is putting thousands of lives at risk every year. McCardell says the new study shows that young people continue to drink despite the dictates of the law, and they do so in the riskiest and least manageable of settings.

“It is often said that keeping the drinking age at 21 has kept alcohol out of the hands of high school students. These new data undermine that assertion,” said McCardell. “We now know that Legal Age 21 is not only doing little to prevent young adults age 18 to 20 from drinking, but it also does not seem to be preventing those under 18 from consuming. This attitude of clandestine, reckless consumption must at least to some degree be attributed to a law that has sought, without much success, to impose prohibition on young adults.”