Cancer linked to obesity tripled in the U.S. over past 20 years

Deaths from obesity-linked cancers have tripled in two decades – Photo credit Unsplash Media

CANCER DIGEST – July 20, 2025 – Cancers associated with obesity make up 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. each year, and cancer deaths linked to obesity have tripled in the U.S. over the past 20 years, according to a study presented at ENDO 2025 the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting held in San Francisco July 12-15, 2025.

The study presented and led by Faizan Ahmed, MD of the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center examined the mortality data of more than 33,000 deaths related to obesity between 1999 and 2020. The results showed sharp increases in such deaths among women, older adults, Native Americans and Black Americans.

"“Obesity is a significant risk factor for multiple cancers, contributing to significant mortality,” Ahmed said in a press release. “This research underscores the need for targeted public health strategies such as early screening and improved access to care, especially in high-risk rural and underserved areas.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 40.3 percent of adults are considered obese. Obesity is a complex disease resulting from genetic, physiologic, hormonal, environmental and developmental factors.

The disease has been linked to cancers of the throat, breast, colon and rectum, uterus, gall bladder, stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas, thyroid, a type of brain cancer and multiple myeloma.

From the analysis, Faizan found that age-adjusted mortality rates increased from 3.73 deaths per million in 1999 to 13.52 deaths per million in 2020, with steep increases among women and minority populations.

Regionally the Midwest had the highest rate of obesity-related deaths, while the Northeast had the lowest. 

Source: Endocrine Society’s ENDO 2025 press release