Dr. Steve: Another Reason Not To Be Fat & A Dangerous New Game Teens Are Playing
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7:00am Segment Info:
Being overweight isn't just bad for your hearts. Researchers now say it can increase your risk of up to a dozen different cancers. The report published in the journal lancet finds being obese or even overweight may increase a person's risk of developing cancer of the esophagus, thyroid, kidney, uterus and gall bladder, as well as colon cancer and breast cancer. To give you an idea of how significant the risk is in men, an average weight gain of 33 pounds increased the risk of esophageal cancer by 52 percent and in women, a weight gain of 29 pounds increased the risk of cancer in the uterus and gall bladder by nearly 60 percent.
How does being overweight trigger cancer?
MORE DR. STEVE INFO AFTER THE JUMP
They're not sure. In fact while the study shows there's a link. There's no definitive proof that being fat in itself causes cancer. But one theory is that excess fat cells could affect the levels of hormones in your body and that may favor the development of tumors in humans. The bottom line is that we know from a number of studies that being overweight is not good for a lot of reasons. This is just another reason to try to lose that excess weight.
In other news, there's an important warning for parents about a dangerous game their kids may be playing.
It's called the choking game, and so far it's killed at least 82 children and adolescents in the US. It's also called the passout game or space monkey. It involves self strangulation or strangulation by another person with the goal of inducing a feeling of euphoria due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Many play this game just for fun or during sexual activity. But make no mistake. It is deadly.
Who's doing this boys or girls? And what age?
According to the report by the CDC, the 82 deaths involved kids as young as six and as old as 19. The average age was about 13 most of the deaths occurred in kids between 11 and 16. The overwhelming majority of them were male and more than 95 percent of the deaths happened while the person was alone. I know this is difficult but parents need to discuss this with their children and warn them that this choking game is extremely dangerous and they can die from it.
