texas oncology more breakthroughs. more victories
Some of our cancer centers may have important notifications found on the location page. View More Important Notifications x

Texas Ranks #1 for Highest Rate of Obesity-Related Cancers

Publication: KENS-TV (CBS, San Antonio)
01/13/2019

Texas tops a national list of states with the highest rate of obesity-related cancers, according to recent data by the American Cancer Society that was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

“They found that especially in the southern parts of the state had higher rates of obesity-related cancers,” said Dr. John Renshaw, Texas Oncology-San Antonio Medical Center. “In fact, Texas unfortunately led the states. We had 8% of our cancers directly attributed to being overweight.”

Renshaw who works with patients to achieve a healthier lifestyle shared ways to lower the risk. He said people should go back to the basics: exercise and diet. He said as little as one hour of walking per week lowers the risk of cancer compared to zero activity.

“My recommendation is not to focus on the number, as far as how much weight you want to lose. I think instead, make better choices every day,” he said. “If you had dinner, you don't have to have a second course. And you don't have to eat till you're full.”

He said for people who are struggling with excess weight and have been diagnosed with cancer, hold off on exercise.

“We typically don't recommend they lose weight while they're undergoing cancer treatments but once the cancer treatments are over, not only does exercise and healthy food choices reduce the chances of cancer coming back, sometimes to the same degree as the chemotherapy that we give them,’ said Renshaw.

He also, recommends having a partner to keep you motivated and accountable for your weight loss goals.

According to the CDC, more than half of Americans do not know that excess weight is linked to cancer. Experts say obesity is linked to 13 different types of cancers.

Click here to watch the full story.

Related Physicians

Related Cancer Centers