Title |
The Obesity Paradox in Cancer: a Review
|
---|---|
Published in |
Current Oncology Reports, July 2016
|
DOI | 10.1007/s11912-016-0539-4 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Hannah Lennon, Matthew Sperrin, Ellena Badrick, Andrew G. Renehan |
Abstract |
There is a common perception that excess adiposity, commonly approximated by body mass index (BMI), is associated with reduced cancer survival. A number of studies have emerged challenging this by demonstrating that overweight and early obese states are associated with improved survival. This finding is termed the "obesity paradox" and is well recognized in the cardio-metabolic literature but less so in oncology. Here, we summarize the epidemiological findings related to the obesity paradox in cancer. Our review highlights that many observations of the obesity paradox in cancer reflect methodological mechanisms including the crudeness of BMI as an obesity measure, confounding, detection bias, reverse causality, and a specific form of the selection bias, known as collider bias. It is imperative for the oncologist to interpret the observation of the obesity paradox against the above methodological framework and avoid the misinterpretation that being obese might be "good" or "protective" for cancer patients. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 3 | 17% |
Spain | 2 | 11% |
United Kingdom | 2 | 11% |
Ireland | 1 | 6% |
Switzerland | 1 | 6% |
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 1 | 6% |
Unknown | 8 | 44% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 12 | 67% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 4 | 22% |
Scientists | 2 | 11% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Croatia | 1 | <1% |
Greece | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 331 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 44 | 13% |
Student > Master | 36 | 11% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 33 | 10% |
Student > Bachelor | 30 | 9% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 26 | 8% |
Other | 71 | 21% |
Unknown | 93 | 28% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 104 | 31% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 31 | 9% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 17 | 5% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 14 | 4% |
Sports and Recreations | 6 | 2% |
Other | 44 | 13% |
Unknown | 117 | 35% |