Mediterranean Diet Adherence Reduced Risk of Obesity-Related Cancer
Researchers analyzed the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and obesity cancers, with a focus on the mediating role adiposity plays throughout the process.
Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet regimen reduced the risk of obesity-related cancers (ORCs), according to data published in JAMA Network Open.1
“The prevalence of excess body weight and the associated cancer burden have increased globally over recent decades,” wrote authors of the study. “Between 1975 and 2016, the prevalence of excess weight in adults (aged ≥20 years) rose from approximately 21% in men and 24% in women to nearly 40% in both sexes. Currently, 39% of the global population is obese or overweight, despite extensive efforts to curb this epidemic.”
The MedDiet has long stood as the healthiest dietary regimen. | image credit: Gamusino / stock.adobe.com
Medications and other interventions to treat patients with obesity have made quite a commotion within the pharmaceutical market. With the inception of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for treating obesity, experts have looked to pharmacological options in potentially ending the obesity epidemic in the US. Since the first GLP-1 for weight loss received FDA approval in 2014,2 a total of 4 GLP-1s have experienced drug shortages.3
READ MORE: Lancet Commission Redefines Clinical Obesity, Moving Beyond BMI
Officials are working around the clock to resolve these shortages, even resolving the tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) shortage in December 2024.4 But in the meantime, providers are looking elsewhere to provide weight management services. One of the long-standing interventions for treating obesity is the introduction of the MedDiet, which remains the most recommended diet regimen, according to US News & World Report.5
“According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, excess body weight is convincingly linked to a heightened cancer risk at 13 anatomic sites, including cancers of the endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, liver, and breast, among others,” they wrote.1 Previous trials have demonstrated the MedDiet’s positive impact on overall health, as well as its association with reduced abdominal adiposity.
With the hope of its benefits extending beyond weight-loss, researchers believed adherence to the Mediterranean diet could be linked to a reduced risk in ORCs. They tested this potential link in a prospective cohort study analyzing ORC outcomes and adherence to the Mediterranean diet, exploring whether or not adiposity was a significant mediator in this association.
“The aim of our study was to assess the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet pattern (as measured by the MedDiet score [MDS] originally proposed by Trichopoulou et al in 2005) and the risk of ORC in the EPIC cohort and to investigate the mediating role of body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) in the association,” continued the authors.1
Using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, researchers analyzed participants 35 to 70 years old from 1992 to 2000 in 10 different countries. Study data were analyzed from March 1 to May 31, 2023. After measuring dietary intake through questionnaires at baseline, “adherence to the Mediterranean diet was scored on a 9-point scale and categorized as low (0-3 points), medium (4-6 points), or high (7-9 points).”
Researchers’ primary outcome for this cohort study was the incident occurrence of any type of ORC. They included a total of 450,111 participants (mean age, 51.1 years; 70.8% women) and followed up with them for a median length of 14.9 years.
“This cohort study found that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a modestly reduced risk of 6% of ORCs within the EPIC study, which includes both Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean populations,” the authors continued.1 “Our results align with the Netherlands Cohort Study, which found an inverse association between an alternate MDS (excluding alcohol) and overall cancer incidence.”
Amongst the researchers’ cohort, just 4.9% of participants developed ORC and were initially cancer free prior to diagnosis. For the association of MDS with ORC, researchers found that higher Mediterranean diet adherence (7-9 MDS points) significantly translated to lower risk of ORCs. Furthermore, they found that even medium adherence (4-6 MDS points) to the Mediterranean diet reduced ORC risk.
“The findings of this cohort study indicate that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet may slightly reduce the risk of ORCs. In addition, we observed that even a medium adherence was associated with a small reduction in the risk of these specific cancers,” concluded the authors.1 “Although our results did not suggest mediation through overweight and obesity, more studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms through which higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet might potentially reduce cancer risk.”
READ MORE: Obesity Management Resource Center
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