According to a study published in Cancer Research, overweight or obese postmenopausal women who lost at least 5% of their body weight achieved a noticeable reduction in markers of inflammation.
“Both obesity and inflammation have been shown to be related to several types of cancer, and this study shows that if you reduce weight, you can reduce inflammation as well,” said Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD, director of the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington.
For the trial, women were assigned to a weight loss intervention based on a diet with or without aerobic exercise. A 10% weight reduction during the course of 1 year was the goal.
At the end of 1 year, the researchers measured levels of C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, interleukin-6, leukocyte, and neutrophil in 439 women.
Results showed C-reactive protein decreased by 36.1% in the diet-alone group and by 41.7% in the diet and exercise group. Interleukin-6 was reduced by 23.1% in the diet group and 24.3% in the diet and exercise group.
A greater reduction in these measures was seen among women who lost at least 5% of their body weight. Furthermore, researchers also determined that without a dietary weight loss component, exercise alone had little effect on inflammation markers.
“This study adds to the growing understanding we have about the link between obesity and cancer, and it appears we can affect inflammation directly through nonpharmaceutical means,” said McTiernan.
Source: AACR.
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