Overview

• The U.S. age-adjusted mortality rate for obesity-related cancers rose from 3.73 per million in 1999 to 13.52 per million in 2020.
• The average annual percent change was 5.92% over two decades, with the steepest rise of 19.37% occurring between 2018 and 2020.
• Women, adults over 65, Native Americans and Black Americans experienced the most pronounced increases in obesity-related cancer deaths.
• State and regional analysis identified the Midwest and states such as Vermont, Minnesota and Oklahoma with the highest rates, while the Northeast and Utah, Alabama and Virginia had the lowest.
• Researchers are urging that obesity be reframed as a cancer prevention priority through upstream prevention, universal screening access and structural policy interventions.