According to the most recent estimates, released by the American Institute for Cancer Research on Thursday, excess body fat is the foremost cause behind over 100,000 cases of cancer every year; thereby adding to the list of the already-known obesity-related illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and joint problems.

The researchers, who examined seven cancers with known links to obesity, said that more than 6 percent of all the estimated 1.6 million cancer cases that are annually diagnosed in the US result from obesity and over-weight.

Speaking in specific terms, as many as 49 percent of endometrial cancers and 35 percent of esophageal cancer cases result from excess body weight. In addition, the case counts of other cancers associated with obesity include 28 percent cases of pancreatic cancer; 24 percent of kidney cancer; 21 percent gallbladder cancer; 17 percent breast cancer; and 9 percent colorectal cancer cases.

Larry Kolonel, MD, PhD, deputy director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, substantiated the latest report relating excess fat to cancer, saying that fatty tissue can produce cancer cell- promoting hormones on its own.

Noting that the report marks the first attempt in the direction of putting "real, quantifiable case numbers on obesity-related cancers," Glen Weldon - the educational director of the American Institute for Cancer Research - further added: "Obesity not only raises the risk for getting cancer. It also has a negative effect on survival and can make treatment more difficult."