13,000 cancer cases each year are caused by obesity and that figure is set to double within the next 40 years, according to researchers.

The obesity epidemic will take more lives due to cancer in the next four decades but people are still unaware of the link between the disease and being overweight.

This new report states that 7 million people die from cancer worldwide each year and that figure will hit 10 million by 2010.

Cancer is the second biggest cause of death in the UK after cardiovascular disease and researchers are calling for the UK to take the obesity-related cancer crisis as seriously as climate change.

The report, commissioned by the World Cancer Research Find, found poor diet and lack of exercise were the major contributory factors in a third of all cancer cases.

Cancer of the breast, colon, kidney, oesophagus and uterus can be caused by obesity as body fat produces hormones that increase the risk. Healthy fruit and vegetables can protect against cancer however these essential food products are lacking in the diet of obese people.

After quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the best course for cancer prevention and although the increase in cancer within the next 40 years isn’t purely down to obesity it is a major contributory factor.

In the UK, one in four men are overweight and one in three women are overweight. These figures have been steadily increasing over the last 20 years.

Learn more about obesity and the therapies that can help here

If you’re a smoker, learn about smoking addiction and the therapies that can help you quit smoking here

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