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1. Excess weight may reduce immune defenses.
2. Excess body fat increases breast and prostate cancer risk. Body fat is like a factory producing estrogens and testosterone. Hormones are produced in the adrenal glands and are carried through the bloodstream into body fat. There, fat cells convert these hormones into estrogens and testosterone, which can fuel breast and prostate cancer cell growth. In addition, individuals with more body fat tend to have less of a protein compound called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in their blood. SHBG’s job is to bind estrogen and testosterone, keeping these hormones inactive and unable to promote cancer. Since overweight people have less SHBG, more of their hormones can travel freely, increasing the risk that cancer will start or spread to other parts of the body. 3. Maintaining a healthy weight improves breast cancer survival. Women with breast cancer who are near their ideal body weight at the time of diagnosis are more likely to survive than are women with higher body weights. In a 2002 review of 26 studies published since 1990 on body weight and cancer recurrence or decreased survival in women previously diagnosed with breast cancer, 17 studies showed that higher body weight was associated with increased risk. Rock CL, Demark-Wahnefried W. Nutrition and survival after the diagnosis of breast cancer: a review of the evidence. J Clin Oncol 2002;20:3302-16. 4. Obesity linked to prostate cancer recurrence. Men who have been treated for prostate cancer are less likely to have a recurrence if they maintain a healthy weight, according to a University of California study of 2,131 prostate cancer patients from 1989 to 2002. Obese men were found to have a 30 percent increased risk of cancer recurrence, compared with those with lower body weights. Very obese patients (BMI greater than 35) had the overall greatest risk of recurrence—about 70 percent higher than thinner men. Bassett WW, Cooperberg MR, Sadetsky N, et al. Impact of obesity on prostate cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy: data from CaPSURE. Urology. 2005;66:1060-1065. 5. Pancreatic cancer tied to obesity.
Silverman DT. Risk factors for pancreatic cancer: a case-control study based on direct interviews. Teratog Carcinog Mutagen. 2001;21:7-25. Trimming Down the Healthy Way The first key is to focus not on how much you eat, but on what you eat. Focus on healthful foods that are naturally modest in calories. The best advice is to build your menu from whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits and keep vegetable oils to a minimum.
The Cancer Project News, Winter 2007
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Many studies have shown that slimmer people are less likely to develop cancer, and trimming excess weight may also improve survival after cancer has been diagnosed. Researchers have shown that overweight people are more likely to show other signs of weakening immunity, such as recurrent infections. 
Past studies have linked pancreatic cancer with cigarette smoking, diabetes, and family history of the disease. One study, conducted using interviews with 526 pancreatic cancer patients, now adds obesity, high caloric intake, heavy alcohol consumption, and low intake of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts) to the list of risk factors.