A new study published in Lancet Oncology has shown that having obesity surgery can have a 42% reduction in cancer levels in women. Although this research does not show any significant impact on men, the Swedish study has made a long jump of progress in the struggle to track down effective treatment for cancer in women. And, even though the direct results of the research are tremendous, the lessons learned by implication may provide people with the genuine cure for the disease; healthy living. Every search for a hero begins with a villain. The culprit in the case for some cancers seems to be unfit living and poor nutrition. Perhaps it’s time you donned your own cape and became a nutritionist – a modern day hero.
Being obese has been known to be a precursor to cancer, although it was uncertain how a corrective surgery could impact the disease. According to the BBC, we know that 20% of all cancer deaths in women and 14% of cancer deaths in men are linked to obesity. Although research is unclear as to the reasons why obesity surgery has a positive effect in staving off cancer, researchers believe that a change in hormone level, more specifically the reduction in the amount of hormone producing fat cells in the body, is probably the trigger.
This of course does not acquit weight gain and an inactive lifestyle in the case against cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, “Avoiding weight gain can lower the risk of cancers of the breast, endometrium, colon, kidney, and esophagus. Regular physical activity lowers the risk of colon and breast cancers.” This should cause an eruption of self-assessment in all those absorbing this data. However, as the trend goes, it most likely will only briefly carbonate the average American. Why is that?
The America public mourns the plumage and forgets the dying bird. They care that they’re fat and out of shape but only for superficial reasons. They categorize themselves as “live to eat” or “eat to live”, with the latter actually being a negative classification. This study and the National Cancer Institute are trying to show that people who are eating to die and not living an exercise-filled nutritious life are on a direct collision course with cancer.
Our national romance with overindulgence and carpe diem is adolescent at best. “Live for the now” is trumpeted like a declaration of happiness. That kind of thinking is only a siren song for short term delight and long term trouble. There is no future, but rather only an everlasting present. To speak figuratively, tomorrow never comes, so we as a nation must start to become healthy now. However, for the ever increasing number of people bankrupt in the understanding of their own bodies, tomorrow unfortunately will literally never come. Cancer is emptying our homes and filling our hospitals, yet we continue on with this slow suicide march to obesity.
The definition of insane is always doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Well, the landing spot for change is now, today, this instant. Hopefully this new study spotlights the consequences of an unfit lifestyle and the value of a healthy one. And if this study brings about the delayed dawn of our understanding of the human body, let the sun remain fixed in our favor. Our bodies have dominion over us, not us over them. We need to learn how to work with them to have a long and fruitful life together. The way to do so is by becoming a nutritionist and sounding a horn of healthy living for you and everyone else. Become a superman.