Obesity-Related Cancer Rates Are Rising in Middle-Aged Americans but Falling in Seniors. What's Going On?

A study published in JAMA Network Open found rates of obesity-related cancers are increasing among people aged 50 to 64, and falling among seniors, reports the Chicago Tribune . The researchers reviewed 2.7 million cases of 13 types of cancers associated with obesity between 2000 and 2016 and parsed the data by sex, race, and ethnicity. A total of 3.4 million cases of non-obesity-related cancers for the same period also was analyzed and did not find significant elevations in rates of obesity-related or non-obesity-related cancers in the 20- to 49-year-old cohort. Although people aged 50 to 64 had increased rates of both obesity-related and non-obesity-related cancers, this trend was more significant for cancers associated with excess weight. The researchers suggested the decline in such cancers in the 65 and or older cohort implies that as people turn 65 and qualify for Medicare, "more . . . will be cancer survivors with a high burden of mental health problems, functional impairment, and medical bankruptcy."