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from the just-another-reason-to-not-be-obese dept.
Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Obesity leads to the release of cytokines into the bloodstream which impact the metabolism of breast cancer cells, making them more aggressive as a result. Scientists from Helmholtz Zentrum München, Technical University of Munich (TUM), and Heidelberg University Hospital report on this in 'Cell Metabolism'. The team has already been able to halt this mechanism with an antibody treatment.
The number of people with obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) recently reported that according to the WHO the number of children and adolescents with obesity increased tenfold between 1975 and 2016. Severe overweight can lead to various health impairments. Besides inducing cardiovascular diseases, obesity for example also promotes the development of cancer and metastases.
The current study elucidates an as yet unknown mechanism making breast cancer more aggressive. The enzyme ACC1* plays a central role in this process," said Dr. Mauricio Berriel Diaz, deputy director of the Institute for Diabetes and Cancer (IDC) at Helmholtz Zentrum München. He led the study together with Stephan Herzig, director of the IDC and professor for Molecular Metabolic Control at TUM and Heidelberg University Hospital. "ACC1 is a key component of fatty acid synthesis," said Berriel Diaz. "However, its function is impaired by the cytokines leptin and TGF-β." The levels of these cytokines are increased particularly in the blood of severely overweight subjects.
(Score: 1) by Goghit on Thursday October 26 2017, @08:38PM
The more I dig into this issue the more complicated it gets. For some, gut bacteria are part of the puzzle, for others sun exposure and B vitamins help bring the metabolism back to a healthy norm. And then there's exercise, etc., etc.
A huge piece of the puzzle is the high level of sugar in the modern diet. There's been some fascinating research done over the last ten years about how the body metabolizes fructose (spoiler alert: it's a toxin). For some, simply eliminating added sugar from the diet results in significant weight loss. Unfortunately 80% of processed food contains added sugar, so it ain't easy getting it out of your diet. When you become a sugar nazi it's depressing how many foods you can't eat anymore.
I'm not buying the "eat less, move more" personal responsibility line anymore. It's not that simple. The food manufacturers know what's going on, but adding sugar gets people to eat more product and increases the sacred profits (peace be upon them). Part of the solution may have to be dragging these people into the streets and hanging them with the guts of Wall Street banksters.