Raghav Bassi, MD, chief internal medicine resident at UCF-HCA Healthcare in Gainesville, Fla., has received honors for his research showing that southern U.S. states, which have the nation's highest obesity rates, also have the highest incidences of colon cancer.
An analysis of 289,196 HCA colon cancer patients across the nation found that those living in southern states had a higher incidence of the disease than those in midwestern or northeastern states, according to a Nov. 7 report from UCF.
The states with the highest incidences of colon cancer also had the highest obesity rates.
The American College of Gastroenterology honored Dr. Bassi with its presidential award for the research. He emphasized that this study is especially alarming when estimations predict that by 2030, 50% of the U.S. population may be obese.
The World Health Organization estimates 1.8 million new colon cancer diagnoses every year, with risk factors including age, obesity, smoking, drinking and physical inactivity.
In examining state-by-state colon cancer rates, the only exception to the obesity-cancer connection was Colorado, which leads the nation in colon cancer rates but has among the lowest obesity rates according to the CDC. Mississippi and Missouri were second and third nationally.
Mississippi has the second highest obesity rate in the nation, at 37.3%.