Obesity, Weight Gain, and Weight Management

Abstract

Over the past several decades, adult weight gain and excess weight have emerged as risk factors for cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, liver, colorectal, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium, and kidney, as well as probable evidence for cancers of the stomach (cardia), mouth/pharynx/larynx, gallbladder, ovary, and prostate. In the USA, overweight and obesity account for 55% of cancers in women and 24% in men. The evidence of risks, outcomes, and interventions is most developed in the literature pertaining to women with early breast cancer (Stage I–III). Primarily with the oncology clinician-patient relationship in mind, this chapter provides an overview of weight trajectories in women with early breast cancer, implications for prognosis and survival, nutrition and exercise for weight management, and the role of oncology clinicians. Lessons learned from the breast cancer population are illustrative for other types of cancers. Culturally sensitive, person-centered language about the importance of weight management in survivorship is essential to clinician-patient communication and other interventions to help adults with cancer to understand the importance of weight management and other benefits from exercise and a healthy diet. Equally important, but not within the scope of this chapter, is the urgency of lowering cancer risk and adverse outcomes through effective and widespread community-based obesity interventions.