Michelle is a Master's level exercise physiologist with more than a decade's experience testing and training a wide variety of individuals.   

 

The dangers of obesity have been fairly well-publicized in a number of areas.  Most people today are aware that obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, sleep apnea, and more.  What you may not realize is that obesity can also lead to cancers, including pancreatic cancer.  Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer in men and women.  Obesity is a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer. According to a 2007 meta-analysis in the International Journal of Cancer, the risk of pancreatic cancer increases about 16% for men and 10% for women for every 5 points of BMI (Body Mass Index).
 
New research, published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association is suggesting that it isn't just how overweight a person is that determines risk for pancreatic cancer, it's when in life they are overweight.  People that are overweight from the ages of 14 to 39 or obese from the ages of 20 to 49 have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer than normal-weight people.  The risk peaks highest for people that are obese between the ages of 30 to 39.  These people have over three times the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. 
 
Other research shows that carrying extra weight around the midsection also greatly increases pancreatic cancer risk.  The ratio between the circumference of the waist and hips indicates the degree of abdominal obesity.  Women who have the highest waist-to-hip ratio had a 70% higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than women with the lowest, according to a study analyzing data from the Women's Health Initiative and published this year in the British medical Journal of Cancer.  This is thought to be because high abdominal obesity indicates a high amount of visceral fat; that is, the amount of fat that surrounds the internal organs.  This fat is highly metabolically active, releasing inflammatory cytokines (messengers) that cause a cascade of inflammatory reactions throughout the body and predisposes to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and premature death. Pursuing a healthy lifestyle at a normal weight will greatly reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer.
 

Many news reports recently have discussed the link between obesity and diabetes.  The root of the connection between obesity and diabetes is insulin resistance.   Insulin helps the body turn food into energy and is the body's primary fat regulator. In the presence of high levels of insulin, more calories are converted to triglycerides to be stored as body fat.   As a person gains more and more weight, the insulin they produce becomes less and less effective.  This form of diabetes, where the body produces insulin but can't use it, is called Type 2 Diabetes. 
 
News reports about Type 2 Diabetes and obesity often lose sight of the fact that increased risk is not a guarantee of contracting the condition. That is, that not every obese person will develop diabetes nor is every person with diabetes obese.  It's now apparent that part of the reason for this is that some people are protected by a hormone called adiponectin.
 
Adiponectin is a substance produced by, ironically enough, fat cells but it is unlike almost all other such molecules that fat cells produce.  Those other molecules are produced more as weight increases and interfere with the action of insulin.  Adiponectin production not only generally goes down as weight increases but it also apparently helps insulin.  According to an study of body fat distribution and cardiovascular risk published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008, as adiponectin levels go down, obesity, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis are more likely.  People treated with adiponectin show reduced insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.  Furthermore, information from a new study and meta analysis in JAMA, The journal of the American Medical Association shows that the higher the level of adiponectin in the blood, the lower the risk of diabetes.  It may be possible to reduce diabetes risk by raising levels of this substance. 
 
So increasing adiponectin levels can help all people reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and its complications.  For women, this is even more important for two reasons.  Women have a higher risk of developing diabetes than men and adiponectin can also reduce the risk of breast cancer.  So far, the only way to reliably raise adiponectin levels is through hormone therapy.