Obesity survey suggests many Americans don't know fat can cause cancer, infertility

A new poll shows only 7 percent of Americans know cancer is a potential health risk from obesity, while 70 percent know diabetes and heart disease are risks. / AP

Despite all the obesity studies and news reports on how unhealthy eating and inactivity are recipes for chronic disease or worse, a new survey finds Americans aren't getting the entire message.

The survey found that many Americans know about heart disease and diabetes as major health risks from obesity, but few realize other conditions including cancer, arthritis, sleep apnea and infertility are tied to having excess weight.

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Top 25 healthiest states in America 2012

Only about one-quarter of people think it's possible for someone to be very overweight and still healthy, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

When asked about the most serious consequences, more than 7 in 10 Americans can correctly tick off heart disease and diabetes. Heart disease is the nation's leading killer, and diabetes and obesity are twin epidemics, as rates of both have climbed in recent years.

The other consequences aren't so well known, the survey revealed.

"People are often shocked to hear how far-reaching the effects of obesity are," said Jennifer Dimitriou, a bariatric dietitian at New York's Montefiore Medical Center.

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Only 7 percent of people surveyed mentioned cancer, although doctors long have known that fat increases the risk of developing certain types of cancers. A March study meanwhile found upticks in cancers of the esophagus, uterus, pancreas and kidney despite overall declines in cancer rates. Experts at the time said excess weight triggers production of hormones that can play a role in cancer growth.

Being overweight can also make it harder to spot tumors early and to treat them.

Then there's the toll on your joints, especially the knees. About 15 percent of people knew obesity can contribute to arthritis, a vicious cycle as the joint pain then makes it harder to exercise and shed pounds.

Recent research shows rates of knee replacement surgeries have nearly doubled for patients 65 and older over the past 20 years, driven in part by increasing obesity rates.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol and strokes were also fairly low on the survey list. Infertility didn't get a mention.

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Also, 5 percent put respiratory problems on the list. Studies show people who are overweight are at increased risk of sleep apnea and asthma, and that dropping pounds can help improve their symptoms.

Knowing more about the myriad ways obesity affects health could help motivate people to get more active and eat better before full-blown disease strikes, Dimitriou said.

"Most people want to become healthier. It's the know-how, and understanding what the consequences are," she said.

But only 52 percent of those surveyed said they've discussed the health risks of being overweight with a doctor.

In another complication, the AP-NORC Center survey found that about half of people think their weight is just about right, and only 12 percent of parents think their child is overweight. That's even though government figures show two-thirds of U.S. adults, and one-third of children and teens, are either overweight or obese.

If you're surrounded by overweight people, especially in your family, "then that's all you know, and that to you is normal," Dimitriou said.

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The AP-NORC Center survey was conducted Nov. 21 through Dec. 14. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,011 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Despite the health problems associated with obesity, another survey by AP-NORC released last week raised questions about how people want these issues addressed.

That survey found while most people support nutrition guidelines to help Americans make better choices along with the posting of calorie counts on restaurant menus, nearly six in ten of those surveyed opposed unhealthy food taxes and three-quarters of respondents were against government restrictions on what people can purchase.

The CDC has more information on obesity's health consequences.

[magnumdr]

So, you can't pick on the cigarette smokers so you move onto the people who are fat. When is this going to stop. Quit harassing people!

[Future_Oncologist]

It is a shame you fail to know and accept the strong relationship between body fat and cancer - breast cancer in particular. There is nothing wrong with being overweight, but the amount of fat tissue within an obese person results in an overproduction of a hormone known as estrogen. Yes, estrogen is required for proper development and function of the female body, but an excess of it causes it to have a more carcinogenic property. When your body metabolizes certain types of estrogen, free radicals are produced. I assume you know all about the relationship between free radicals and how they can mutate your DNA and promote the formation of cancers. Here are a couple links for you to read and educate yourself:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11511861
http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/publications/in-vivo/Vol2_Iss10_may26_03/index.html

[annoynymous]

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i spent most of my days in gym and based myself on all sort of diet
i didnt get slim untill i consulted a powerful spell caster
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[annoynymous]

www.babaelejoka dot webs dot com

[samuel5028]

Shocking to hear :(

[DeskDiva]

The author of this article has clearly confused the terms "correlation" and "causation." Just because two conditions occur together does not mean that one necessarily causes the other. There is a mounting collection of evidence that suggests that even if obesity *does* cause these issues, that focusing on healthy habits can lead to bodies that are healthier than thin bodies if the thin person is not focused on health. To boot, it is very likely that most of the weight will still be there, even with an increase in healthy habits. There is not one single study that confirms more than a 5% success rate in ANY form of weight loss effort from the most radical fad diet to so-called lifestyle change. A mere 5% of people were able to keep that weight off long term. Dieting is the only industry in the world that blames the consumer for the failure of the product.

In any event, no one "owes" it to anyone else to be healthy. We all have the right to make our own choices, period.

[lilitu1uk]

I'm glad to hear a quarter of Americans aren't falling for the scaremongering about fat! Fat active people are pretty much just as healthy as thin active people and healthier than thin sedentary people. Even if that weren't the case there is no proven way to permanently lose weight and it's no one's business but the individual's what health they are in or what they do with their life.

I'd like to see a stop to articles such as this which only give more fuel to those bigoted about body size. Shame and fear never made anyone healthier, think how those people in the picture at the top might feel if they know that their bodies are being used to illustrate some fear-mongering over the top article.

@MGOODMAN58 - all the best with your fight.

[mgoodman58]

I'm thin, have been all my life. I'm fighting cancer. Cancer can be caused by BPA, GMO, and other pollutants in our lives.

[mgoodman58]

I'm thin, have been all my life. I'm fighting cancer. Cancer can be caused by BPA, GMO, and other pollutants in our lives.

[TimeToEvolve]

Not that people are stupid but they need help being educated so they are able to make educated decisions. That is the very purpose of a strong central government.

[JorgeWashington]

We are a product of our own success. There were few fat people when we were an agrarian society. Enlightenment drew the masses to the cities, factory automation meant an explosion of food choices at lower cost, and soon the government was handing out EBT cards to fill the faces of those it deemed "unfairly" hungry.

In a free society, it is "unfair" to judge another because of their weight. In a free society, one should be responsible for ones actions, and if being fat means healthcare costs rise, one should be prepared for the consequences of ones actions. Jorge Washington is beginning to think that attempting to control people through communal health care is the goal of communal health care itself. Make people responsible for their own life decisions, and stop filling their faces with EBT cards, and we will have less fat people and better Americans.

[TimeToEvolve]

Don't forget about the proliferation of race to the bottom cheap and plentiful corporate fast food. Also the laboratory created high fructose corn syrup and GMO, both of which created our currently unhealthy society.

[DeskDiva]

For a breakdown of the so-called cost of obesity, you might check out this blog post by size activist Ragen Chastain: http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/obesity-and-health-care-costs/

She makes excellent points across the board.

[SuziZuki600]

It's so easy for a writer who is probably very thin to sit back and write an article such as this. I can't honestly say I have ever met one overweight person that truly WANTS to be overweight. However, the road to thin is an arduous one that many aren't able to deal with, especially with all of life's other issues. I think saying "they don't get it" is really unfair! Take a walk in someone else's shoes before casting judgments.

[JuicePlusFrance]

With all the articles, news and studies about obesity, how can people not know the effects of it and not do anything about it? Everything we do is our choice, sometimes we just don't realize it. I was in the first stage of obesity when I decided that I don't want to die young because I have kids. I keep on saying to myself that it's hard to lose weight, but it's not. It's a matter of taking responsibility for your own health and deciding for yourself that you should do it. I lose 6 kilos in 1 month by changing my eating habit and walking at least 1 hour per day.