Medical expert of the article
New publications
Obesity provokes the development of prostate cancer
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Obesity is one of the most pressing problems of the modern world. According to the WHO, there are now more than 1.7 billion people who are overweight.
Unfortunately, the unaesthetic appearance of a person is only half the trouble, the worst thing is that obesity can be the cause of a number of diseases, in particular, contribute to the development of prostate cancer by changing the regulation of genes.
The results of the new study, published in the journal BioMed Central, suggest that prostatitis, one of the most common men's diseases, can be caused by obesity, followed by a diet rich in fats and sugar, as well as inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables.
Fats are stored energy, due to which the body provides its survival and ability to move around in conditions of lack of search. Accumulation of excess fat begins when the body does not have time to spend what we have used with food and, thus, the process of obesity begins.
An international team of scientists led by Professor Gema Frübek and Dr. Ricardo Ribeiro conducted screening of fats from different areas of the prostate gland taken from patients who underwent surgery. Samples were taken from healthy men, those who were diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (adenoma) and in patients with prostate cancer.
Also, men were classified according to their body weight.
Regardless of the type of prostate disease, overweight men had different levels of gene activity in the fat layer compared to lean people.
In people with excess weight, genes are encoded by proteins involved in the process of protecting healthy cells from "attacks" of hostile microorganisms.
Dr. Ribeiro comments: "In the conditions of modern life, people do not follow their diet and body weight due to lack of time, strength and for some other reason. For men, this is fraught with the development of oncological diseases, in particular prostate cancer. Understanding how the fat deposits and the gene processes that are taking place in them affect the development of prostate cancer, will help to develop more effective methods of combating obesity, and hence with cancer. "
[