PEOPLE who are obese have larger organs and thus more cells, according to CT scans of 750 individuals. This could explain why people who are obese have a higher risk of getting many kinds of cancers. "While obesity is a complex disease that may affect cancer risk in several other ways, the increase in the size of an organ, and in the number of its cells, must increase the risk of cancer in that organ," states the team, which is led by Cristian Tomasetti at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Others say the idea is plausible, but far from proven. About a fifth of all cancer cases worldwide are attributable to obesity, according to some estimates. But why obesity increases the risk of certain cancer types, such as those of the kidney, remains unclear.
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