IARC contributes to WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022

A scientist from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) contributed to a new report on obesity, launched today by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. Dr Marc Gunter, Head of the Nutrition and Metabolism Branch at IARC, wrote a chapter in the WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022 summarizing the relationships between obesity and risk of cancer.

At least 40% of cancer cases are potentially preventable, and smoking and obesity are the two most important modifiable causes of cancer. It has been estimated that obesity will supersede smoking as the primary cause of cancer in some countries in the next decades. IARC recognizes obesity as a cause of at least 13 different cancer types. Obesity also appears to be a risk factor for worse survival in some patients with cancer.

Important questions about the links between obesity and cancer remain unanswered, including the underlying biological mechanisms, whether intentional weight loss in people with obesity can mitigate risk of cancer, and to what degree obesity has an impact on cancer survival and risk of recurrence.

Interventions at both the population level and the individual level to reduce the prevalence of obesity and to sever the obesity–cancer link are likely to be critical for cancer control. The WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD Office) prepared the new report in response to requests from WHO Member States in the European Region seeking advice on how to tackle obesity. The report provides the latest evidence on obesity, including data on causes, health consequences, prevention, policy, and other areas, and will be distributed to stakeholders in WHO Member States.