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Can Belly Fat Cause Cancer and Other Serious Diseases?

Diet, Habits, & Other Behaviors, Prevention, , , , , ,

Farmin Shahabuddin, MPH, Ammu Dinesh, and Claire Viscione, National Center for Health Research

Belly fat is common among men and women. However, when a person’s body shape looks more like an apple than a pear, that could increase their likelihood of developing cancer or other serious diseases. 

More than two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight or obese.1 Most people know that obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. But did you know that being overweight also increases your chances of developing cancer, and that having an “apple” body shape due to belly fat can increase your chances of developing cancer and dying from several serious diseases, even if you are not overweight?

Why is belly fat dangerous?

Whether your body fat is located at your waist (giving you an apple shape) or hips (giving you a pear shape) makes a difference to your health. Women tend to gain more belly fat as they get older. Regardless of their weight, white, black, and Latina women with a waistline measurement of 35 inches or more have higher health risks. This is also true for Asian women with a waistline of 31 inches or more. Although it is important to get rid of excess fat in general, belly fat is the most threatening to your health.

Unlike the fat that sits just beneath the skin, the fat that sits around internal organs is called visceral fat.2 This fat is the most dangerous, and it is typically what shows up as belly fat. Measuring your waistline is important since you can get a good idea of whether you have a dangerous amount of belly fat.

You can check your waist circumference at home with a simple tape measure. Wrap the tape around your bare waist, above your hipbones, after gently exhaling. As you can see from the table below, a waist size of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women is considered high risk.

Table 1. What does your waistline measurement mean? 2

Additionally, the waist-to-hip ratio is also another important indicator to determine whether you are at risk for abdominal obesity. The waist-to-hip ratio can be measured by dividing your waist measurement (in inches/cm) by your hip measurement (in inches/cm). The World Health Organization (WHO) states that abdominal obesity is defined as a waist-hip ratio above 0.90 for males and above 0.85 for females. 3 Use this calculator to measure your ratio. Even if you are not overweight or obese, having a lot of belly fat can more likely lead to developing cancer and other chronic health conditions.

Several studies have looked at the relationship between belly fat and cancer and other serious diseases. One study followed over 150,000 post-menopausal women ages 50-79 for about 20 years.3 This study found that women who have extra belly fat are at a higher risk of death regardless of their weight. Causes of death in the study included cardiovascular disease and cancer. The women of normal weight who had extra belly fat tended to be older, nonwhite, and with less education and income. They were also less likely to use menopausal hormones and to exercise. 

To figure out your BMI, use the chart below, and enter your height and weight into this calculator. The chart shows how being overweight or having an apple shape increases your chances of dying from cancer compared to women who are not overweight and do not have an apple shape.

Table 2. Likelihood of death due to cancer in women based on BMI.3

You can see that women who were not overweight or obese but had extra belly fat were almost exactly as likely to die from cancer as overweight women with extra belly fat (20% compared to 19%). 

A different study followed more than 3,000 men and women for 7 years. They used CT scans and physical exams to look at the fat throughout the body. Over the course of the study, the men and women developed 141 cases of cancer, 90 heart-related incidents, and 71 deaths from various causes. The study found that people with more belly fat, specifically visceral fat, were about 44% more likely to develop cancer and heart disease, even when adjusting for waist circumference. 4

Belly fat also increases the chances of prostate cancer. Researchers report that men with more belly fat are more likely to develop prostate cancer, and that is true even for men with a normal BMI. 5  A 2018 scientific review of the association between abdominal obesity and prostate cancer reports that larger waist size and central fat are associated with higher prostate cancer risk, particularly for more aggressive and advanced stages of cancer. 6

Newer Research on Belly Fat and Cancer

Recent studies provide more detailed evidence about how belly fat raises cancer risk and affects cancer after diagnosis. A 2022 study that followed 94,000 adults for more than ten years found that people were about 30% more likely to develop colorectal cancer. The researchers found that belly fat increases inflammation and makes it harder for cells to use insulin properly, which are the two changes that make it easier for cancer to grow. 7 

A 2021 study looked at people who were already being treated for stage III colorectal cancer. Those with higher amounts of belly fat had lower survival rates – about 79% were still alive three years after treatment, compared with 88% of people with less belly fat. People who had more belly fat were also three times as likely to have their cancer spread inside the abdomen. 8 This shows that belly fat can affect not just who gets cancer but how well patients respond to treatment and recover.

Colorectal cancer may not be the only type of cancer affected. New evidence suggests that fat may contribute to the growth of various types of cancer cells. A 2022 scientific review found that cancers can use fatty acids as a source of energy, so that excess fat in the body may act as “fuel” for tumor growth. 9  Other studies show that obesity can disrupt the body’s gut microbiome, changing the balance of healthy and harmful bacteria. A 2023 review concluded that these changes in bacteria can increase toxins, inflammation, and immune dysfunction, all of which can promote gastrointestinal cancers. 10

Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes

For both men and women, extra belly fat raises the chances of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes – the leading causes of death in the United States. 11  Visceral fat releases substances that trigger chronic inflammation and damage blood-vessel walls, making arteries stiffer and more likely to clog. Over time, this increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and metabolic disease, even in people whose BMI is normal.

What can you do?

As you can see, belly fat can be very dangerous, especially for women, even if they are not overweight. Losing weight or preventing weight gain can lower health risks. By exercising regularly, you can get rid of unhealthy belly fat. It is also important to change your diet to eat foods that are high in nutrients and essential vitamins. You can do this by eating more fresh vegetables, nuts, and whole-grain breads instead of processed meat, red meat, candy, pasta, and white bread. These few changes can help you lose belly fat and improve the quality and length of your life.

Local bans on unhealthy food and drinks may also be effective in reducing belly fat. A 2019 study shows that a ban on the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages at a large college campus substantially decreased consumption and led to significantly less belly fat.12 Students who stopped drinking the beverages had improved insulin resistance and lower cholesterol. The combination of the ban and a brief motivational talk was even more effective than the ban by itself.

Latest Evidence on What Works and What Doesn’t

The public often sees ads promising to “melt belly fat fast”. Recent studies show which methods actually help reduce belly fat and which do not.

What Works

  • Regular Exercise: Aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, swimming, or cycling, is one of the most effective ways to reduce visceral fat.  A 2023 study found a clear “dose-response” effect: more aerobic exercise produced greater belly-fat reduction. 13 
  • Strength Training: Adding resistance exercise two or more times per week helps preserve lean muscle while reducing overall body fat. 14
  • Healthy, Sustainable Eating: Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends limiting refined carbohydrates and added sugars, while emphasizing vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. In other words, a Mediterranean-style diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil helped people lose visceral fat while maintaining muscle mass. 15
  • High-Intensity Workouts: In younger adults with overweight or obesity, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and aerobic exercise both significantly reduced visceral fat. 16
  • Healthy Habits Beyond Exercise: Harvard experts note that enough sleep, avoiding smoking, and managing stress all help prevent fat from collecting around the waist. 17

What Doesn’t Work

  • Spot-Reduction Exercises: Doing only sit-ups or crunches won’t specifically burn belly fat. 17
  • Alternate-Day Fasting Alone: A 2021 study found that belly fat was resistant to every-other-day fasting if it is not combined with other lifestyle changes. 18
  • “Fat Burning” Pills, Creams, or Belts – None of these products has been proven to reduce visceral fat safely or effectively. 19

What This Means for You:

  • Cancer risk: Belly fat increases the chances of developing colorectal, breast, and other cancers – even in people who are not overweight.
  • Cancer outcomes: People with more visceral fat may not live as long as others after a cancer diagnosis. Additionally, people with more visceral fat often have lower survival rates after cancer treatment.
  • Heart Disease and Related Serious Illness: Extra belly fat raises inflammation and insulin resistance, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes for both men and women.
  • Prevention works: The most effective ways to reduce belly fat are regular aerobic and strength exercise, a healthy diet, and consistent lifestyle habits.
  • Don’t be fooled: Restrictive fasting, supplements, and “spot reduction” exercises do not work.

The Bottom Line

Belly fat is more than a cosmetic concern — it is a health risk. Reducing belly fat through regular physical activity, healthy eating, and other health habits reduces your chances of developing cancer or other serious diseases. No shortcut, pill, or single exercise will work.

Learn more about how extra body fat can increase your risk for developing cancer, and how you can make a commitment to your health and reduce risky belly fat:

All articles on our website have been approved by Dr. Diana Zuckerman and other senior staff.

References:

  1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. FastStats- Overweight Prevalence. CDC.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm. Updated June 13, 2016.
  2. Harvard Health Publishing. Abdominal obesity and your health. Health.Harvard.edu. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/abdominal-obesity-and-your-health. September 2005. Updated January 20, 2017.
  3. Sun Y, Liu B, Snetselaar LG, Wallace RB, Caan BJ, Rohan TE, et al. Association of Normal-Weight Central Obesity With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Postmenopausal Women. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2(7):e197337. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31339542.
  4. Britton KA, Massaro JM, Murabito JM, Kreger BE, Hoffmann U, Fox CS. Body Fat Distribution, Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and All-Cause Mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2013; 62(10): 921-925. http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/62/10/921.
  5. Harvard Health Publishing. Body fat may predict aggressive prostate cancer.
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/body-fat-may-predict-aggressive-prostate-cancer
  6. Lavalette C, et al. Abdominal obesity and prostate cancer risk. PubMed Central (review).
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6195387/
  7. Li W et al. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2022. Abdominal Obesity, Inflammation, and Colorectal Cancer Risk. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.983160/full
  8. Park JW et al. Frontiers in Oncology. 2021. Visceral Fat and Colorectal Cancer Outcomes.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8761926/
  9. Lengyel E et al. Steroids. 2022. Cancer’s Fuel from Fat: Fatty-Acid Oxidation in Tumor Growth. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044579X22001766
  10. Chen J et al. Int J Oncol. 2023. Obesity, Gut Microbiome, and Gastrointestinal Cancers.
    https://www.spandidos-publications.com/ijo/64/1/4#
  11. SolutionHealth. 6 hidden dangers of belly fat in men (heart disease, stroke, diabetes explained).
    https://www.solutionhealth.org/2024/07/25/6-hidden-dangers-of-belly-fat-in-men/
  12. Epel ES, Hartman A, Jacobs LM, Leung C, Cohn MA, Jensen L, et al. Association of a Workplace Sales Ban on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages With Employee Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Health. JAMA Network Open. 2019. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.4434
  13. JAMA Network Open. 2023. Dose–Response of Aerobic Exercise and Visceral Fat.
    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2828487
  14. Harvard Health Publishing. Taking Aim at Belly Fat. Exercise and Lifestyle Guidance.
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/taking-aim-at-belly-fat
  15. Martínez-González MA et al. Nutrition & Metabolism. 2023. Mediterranean Diet and Visceral Fat Loss.
    https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-023-00706-4
  16. Sun Y et al. Frontiers in Physiology. 2022. Effects of Different Exercise Types on Visceral Fat in Young Adults. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10456392/
  17. Harvard Health Publishing. Taking Aim at Belly Fat. 2024. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/taking-aim-at-belly-fat
  18. University of Sydney. 2021. Belly Fat Resistant to Every-Other-Day Fasting Study. https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/03/03/belly-fat-resistant-to-every-other-day-fasting-study.html
  19. Sato Y et al. Frontiers in Physiology. 2021. Possible Mechanisms to Explain Abdominal Fat Loss Effect of Exercise Training.
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.789463/full