ABSTRACT
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is recognized as a major cause of cancer worldwide (World Health Organization 2000, 2011). Obesity can be dened as an excess of body adiposity, which is evaluated according to the body weight. The body mass index (BMI) correlates weight and height (BMI = weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters [kg/m2]), and since 1980, BMI has been considered the standard measure for evaluating whether a person is obese. In general, an individual with a BMI between 25 and 30 is classied as overweight or pre-obese, while an individual with a BMI over 30 is classied as obese; different intervals are established according to the mortality risk (Table 2.1) (Caballero 2007; World Health Organization 2000).
