The Real Headless Horseman: Obesity

By John Quidor - aQHCpcwsbaMXQA at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22126482

For Halloween, we need to remember that much of the “treats” that children are getting are extremely unhealthy. Most treats are sugar/fat/high fructose corn syrup laden candy.  As a once-a-year event, this might be fine (in moderation), but with childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome on the rise, and colon cancer diagnosed at ever-younger ages (possibly due to weight problems), consuming such junk food should not be a habit.  It’s not “The Headless Horseman” stalking the land, but the obesity epidemic, and fewer and fewer of us are as slim as Ichabod Crane.

Gliomas and obesity at young age

Glioma is a brain cancer.

Glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of glioma, is the deadliest human cancer with a survival of about 12 months for WHO grade IV. I have previously referred to a great documentary on glioblastoma treatment, but this post is about prevention rather than treatment.
 
Inskip et al. have reported an increased incidence of glioma in the frontal lobe in the cohort of 20-29 year olds. The authors also questioned a common hypothesis that cellular phone use associates with glioma incidence. The conclusion from the study did not in support the notion that the use of cellular phones causes brain cancer.

Whereas use of cellular phones might not cause brain cancer, obesity during adolescence does (Moore SC, et al., 2009). Moore and his colleagues reported that:

“Risk among participants who were obese (BMI 30.0-34.9 kg/m(2)) at age 18 years was nearly four times that of persons of normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)) at age 18 years (RR, 3.74; 95% CI, 2.03-6.90; P(trend) = 0.003); 11 cases were obese at age 18 years. Risk among participants who were active during ages 15 to 18 years was 36% lower than that of persons who were inactive during ages 15 to 18 years (RR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44-0.93; P(trend) = 0.02). BMI and physical activity after age 18 years were unrelated to glioma risk.”




 
Actionable

If you want to protect your children from the deadliest cancer, take care of their nutrition and support them in any physical activity. 

Learn about the four rules against childhood obesity.