(CNN) -- More than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused
by excess body fat, according to a report released Thursday in
Washington. Researchers with the American Institute for Cancer
Research looked at seven cancers with known links to obesity and
calculated actual case counts that were likely to have been
caused by obesity. Specifically, the report says that 49 percent
of endometrial cancers are caused by excess body fat. That
number is followed by 35 percent of esophageal cancer cases; 28
percent of pancreatic cancer cases; 24 percent of kidney cancer
cases; 21 percent of gallbladder cancer cases; 17 percent of
breast cancer cases; and 9 percent of colorectal cancer cases.
"This is the first time that we've put real, quantifiable case
numbers on obesity-related cancers," said Glen Weldon, the
American Institute for Cancer Research educational director. In
addition, he said, it's not just causing cancer that's an issue.
"Obesity not only raises the risk for getting cancer," Weldon
said. "It also has a