An understanding of product is essential for effective marketing Essay

An understanding of product is essential for effective marketing. Discuss - Essay Example The welfare of customers and other stakeholders must be considered as the primary objective of a business. In this respect, marketing activities includes all these important factors that enhances the value of an organisation and ultimately leads to wealth creation of its stakeholders. Marketing is broad concept and a crucial primary activity of a value chain. According to Robert Skrob, â€Å"using sound marketing principle, strategies, and techniques will allow you to build a large list, form great relationships with your clients, and provide them with outstanding products and services - things they want, get value from, and that you are proud of† (Skrob, 2008, p.63). Therefore, for establishing and achieving long term success, a business organisation must formulate an effective marketing strategy. The increasing competition in the business world is one of the vital reasons that have increased the significance of marketing strategy. A successful marketing strategy enables an o rganisation to achieve competitive advantage. It enables a company to gain an upper hand position in the market. Product or service is the core factor that serves the consumers’ demand and utility. It is the prime factor for running a business. This paper will attempt to deal with the understanding of product for effective marketing. In this respect, the paper will discuss various aspects of product that affect product strategies. Various theories and models will be presented to support the primary objective of this essay. Finally in the conclusion section, overall discussions and analysis will be summed up. In the process of strategic management, a marketer must consider four primary component of marketing. These marketing components are product, price, promotion and place. The four components of marketing are known as ‘marketing mix’ or four ‘Ps of marketing’. Marketing mix can be defined as the basis of marketing strategy and it â€Å"establishes

Race relations Act 1976. (Amended 2000) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Race relations Act 1976. (Amended 2000) - Essay Example which are equivalent to those in his/her special group (Cross, 1989, p. 85). It is believed that equal opportunity in the UK may be taken in the context of the third meaning given. The Race Relations Act of 1976 changed the general concept of racial discrimination in the United Kingdom. Firstly, the Act widened its scope of discrimination by including indirect and unintentional forms of discrimination. Secondly, the Act also fortified the implementation of the law. As stipulated in its provisions, the Race Relations Act of 1976 created the Commission on Racial Equality (CRE), replacing the Race (RRB) Relations Board. In terms of substance, the CRE is endowed greater power than the RRB or the Community Relations Commission. The CRE was mandated to enforce the law in England, Scotland and Wales (Bolaffi, 2001, p. 42). A separate institution, the Commission for Racial Equality for Northern Ireland, is tasked with the implementation of the law on discrimination in Northern Ireland. By virtue of an Order in Council, the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 was enacted to provide protection against race-related discrimination in 1995 (Rogers, 1999). The Race Relations Act of 1976 was passed on November 22, 1976. The legislation was enacted to intensify existing regulations against race-related discrimination and to guide relations between individual of different ethnic origins. The Act also introduced amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 by instituting provisions aimed towards consistency in the supervision and implementation of such amendments (Ministry of Justice 1991). The Race Relations Act of 1976 was revised by virtue of the provisions of the Race Relations (Amendment ) Act of 2000 on November 30, 2000. This 2000 amendment broadened the application of the Race Relations Act of 1976 to the police and other public authorities. The amendment also altered the stipulations for exemption under the 1976 Act

Powers of police Essay Example for Free

Powers of police Essay Polo Games limited was initially involved in manufacture and sale of electronic typewriters changed its product line and started developing and manufacturing hand held computer games and devices. From the scenario of this company it comes out clearly that the company was involved fraudulent and counterfeiting practices and as such it was suspected of having committed a crime. The police came to the business premises one day to search, arrest and seize suspected counterfeit materials used in the fraudulent activities. Police have the powers conferred up on them to do the search and make arrests. Such powers are outlined hereunder: Police and other government authorities have been conferred some powers to arrest, search and even seize property. These powers are available for use by such authorities only in the given circumstances and conditions. For instance the power to search a person for anything is allowed when the person can cover up evidence relating to an offence, or anything which might enable the person to escape from unlawful custody. Other reason or conditions is to search to an extent which is reasonably required to get the required evidence (http://www.11kbw.co.uk/html/articles/policepowers.html, assessed on April 1, 2008). Police have powers conferred to them that enable them to enter and search premises. These powers of entry and search states that: power to enter and search a premise in which a suspected person is hiding; the power only applies to the extent that the police man has reasonable grounds to in believing that there is evidence in the premises. Section 18 of the EPA (Emergency Provisions Act 1996) gives the police power particularly the cop who is the rank of inspector to gain entry into premises occupied by a person under arrest. The inspector in this case should have sufficient belief that there is some evidence in the premises. When such an officer gets into the premises they are covered by the power conferred to them to seize any materials which are suspicious or can be used as evidence in court. This power is deemed critical in cases where it is assumed that some delay may lead to destruction of evidence by the suspected person. Section 17 of the EPA also mandates the police to enter into premises of suspected people in order to execute a warrant of arrest or arrest a person who has committed an arrestable offence. Other reasons for entry and search could involve the capturing of a person who has escaped from the police custody. Such person could have had committed a business related offence. Also in the context of business, police enters or force their way into a premise when there is anticipated damage of the property or evidence. There is section 19 of the EPA which mandates the police officers to enter premises and seize all things obtained through commission of crimes or which act as evidence related to crime.   Police also have power to seize property where there is evidence that it relates to given offence. The basis of this is to prevent the suspect from concealing, losing, altering or destroying the evidence.   Police officers have powers to arrest any person whom they have sufficient evidence or reasonable ground to suspect as having committed or is about to commit crime. To enter business premises, police normally have to obtain warrant from Justice of Peace. The Justice of Peace only grants such warrants when fully convinced that there is sufficient strength of the offence committed. Police seeking such warrants must specify reasons for the search and the things or items to be looked for. Reference: Police powers of search and seizure, available at: http://www.11kbw.co.uk/html/articles/policepowers.html, assessed on April 1, 2008

The resource curse in myanmar

The resource curse in myanmar Introduction Myanmar (Burma) has distinguished diversity in both its ethnicity and geography. Myanmar has been ruled by the formidable military junta that has contributed to raising many problems in the social, political and economic spheres. Myanmar is infamous for the worlds longest civil war, dire poverty, poor public health and systematic human rights violations. Especially, the oppression of the military regime against some indigenous groups and pro-democracy demonstrators have been done in cruel manners such as forced displacement, arbitrary detentions, rapes, torture and massacres. In the pro-democracy demonstration in 1988, as many as 3,000 unarmed protestors were killed by the Myanmar army (Human Rights Watch, 1989). The regime has maintained tight control over all facets of economy and society, including the countrys natural resources. Myanmar has plenty of natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, timber and valuable minerals such as gold, tin, rubies and jade. In contrast with the countrys abundance of natural resources, Myanmars development has never been on the right track; the outcomes are poor economic growth, extensive poverty, military dictatorship and prolonged civil war. In reality, the abundance of natural resources in Myanmar has contributed to extensive human right abuses and environmental degradation: forced labor, displacement, deforestation, soil contamination, etc. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the military regime of Myanmar spends at least 40 percent of its national budget on military expenditures, in contrast with the indiscreetly low allocation of the health budget (only 0.4 percent), regardless of the exploding public health crisis (Taisamyone 2007). The military junta has exploited billions of dollars from the national revenue to fuel the military force; in other words, the money that was supposed to enrich the Myanmar citizens has been used for the military activity to control or oppress the citizens. The situation of Myanmar ― a paradoxical outcome of natural resource abundance ― can be true of the â€Å"resource curse† that has been addressed for years in a multitude of researches of countries development. The term resource curse is used to describe the paradox that dependence on natural resources, especially in developing countries often negatively affects the economic growth, democratization and promotion of human rights. As a matter of fact, many countries rich in natural resources have failed to develop and remain in miserable situations. (Humphreys 2007) It is well known that the economic instability in a resource-rich country is caused by an economic concept called â€Å"Dutch disease† ― a countrys currency value is raised by the export of natural resources, and it will makes the other domestic industries uncompetitive in the other export activities due to the inflationary exchange rate (Humphreys 2007). In addition, it is now widely agreed that the curse of natural resources degrades the quality of governance, and as a result, natural resources often provokes civil war (Collier 2007). This paper seeks to analyze the formation of the resource courses in Myanmar, by taking up the key issues of the primary resources that have largely influenced the states condition. The paper especially focuses on the relation of the parties involved with the natural resource issues in the context of economical, ecological and social aspects, rather than focusing on the theory of economic science such as the Dutch disease. Also, this paper will provide some suggestions of how to resolve the Myanmars resource curse from a point of view of sustainable development and environmental scarcity. Natural Gas Myanmars natural gas exports in the fiscal year of 2007-08 was 2.6 billion U.S dollars, and account for 43 percent of the total exports, according to the report from Myanmars Customs Department (Yao 2008). The largest of Myanmars industrial projects is the Yanada project. The Yanada pipeline was bridged from the offshore area to the Thai border with a 60-kilometer-long route across southern Burma. During the construction, the Burmese military regularly conscripted villagers in the pipeline area to impose forced labor. The villagers were afflicted with extensive human rights violations including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings by the military junta (ERI 2008). Environmental degradation during the construction and operation period is also serious problem. Offshore drilling creates massive toxic wastes that are usually dumped into the ocean. Both the disposal of toxic waste and the drilling cause a hazardous effect on the wet lands, fish and habitats, and pollute water supplies (ALTSEAN-Burma 2009). There is another serious problem in natural gas projects other than human rights abuses and environmental degradation. The military expenditure of the military junta dramatically increased due to the Yanada project. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Myanmars military budget was estimated at $900 million U.S. of the total budget of $2.3 billion. The Yanada project provided the largest portion of the revenue, and at least 50 % of it would flow directly to the military regime (CIA Factbook cited in ERI 2008). The natural gas and multinational corporations have not benefited the local population at all but they have contributed much to financing the military junta. There has been no threat from neighboring countries since the countys independence in 1948; the purpose of enforcing military rule is only to control or oppress its citizens. While Myanmar pours its huge budget into the military activities, the country is severely impoverished as one of the poorest countries in the world. Timber Aside from the natural gas industry, the timber industry also produces a significant profit in Myanmar. Because of its lucrative nature, especially in the variable teak, the military junta has overexploited the countrys forests. The extensive illegal logging is a huge problem, leading to the deforestation and the destruction of biodiversity. The forests covered 70% of Myanmars total land area at the time of its independence in 1948, but most independent estimates indicated that over half of the countrys forests were cut down by commercial logging operations as of 1998 (Dennis 1999). Deforestation contributes to massive soil erosion, temperature increase and flooding in the areas logged. Deforestation spoils the quality and availability of water and directly harms the local communities livelihood; farming is impossible in the land and a shortage of clean water undermines the health of the people. Not only that, forests are furthermore important for the indigenous people in their religious beliefs and practices. â€Å"Karen people in Lu Thaw Township are famous for their traditional beliefs related to forests†¦If there was no forest, there would be no rotational farming, plant diversity, and the specific cultural identity, traditional beliefs and values of the Karen would disappear.† (PKDS and KESAN 2004) In the peripheral part of the country, the ethnopolitical groups manage the logging industry for the benefit of .hard currency. The logging business provides both the military junta and the local ethnopolitical minorities with profit, and this has led to an incompatible relationship between them. The military junta started to monopolize the timber industry and forcibly removed ethnopolitical groups that managed some forest areas, such as Karen National Union States (KNU) that dealt with the logging business in the unreserved forest area of Karen State. The military junta has cut down forests indiscriminately whether they are reserved or unreserved. The military junta stripped the living environment and a significant source of income from the local communities. Thus, logging and political conflict are interrelated in the Karen State (PKDS and KESAN 2004). Dams The military junta has been enforcing the construction of dams along the Salween River for the sake of hydropower. In the dome sites, forced labor and human rights violations were regularly conducted by the Burmese military, as well as the construction of the natural gas pipeline construction described above. A series of dam constructions caused a threat of flood and water scarcity, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee to higher ground. Although the military junta once promised abundant electricity and water supplies along the dam sites, the local population has never received the benefit. On the contrary, local communities in the area, mainly Karenni ethnic people, have been suffering from the destruction of the environment and shortage of water, which have directly damaged both farming and fishing industries, and the local communities livelihood. One of four dams of the Salween River, the Weigyi Dam, flooded several times, extending over 640 square kilometers, and made 30,000 villagers homeless, submerging 28 towns in Karen State (KDRG 2006). Ongoing Civil War in Myanmar Myanmar has a long history of numerous civil wars due to the great diversity of the ethnic groups and the problematic politics of the military regime. Several ethnopolitical minorities had organized rebellion and fought simultaneously against the military regime to achieve their self-determination. Most of the ethnopolitical minorities, however, compromised on cease-fire agreements with the military regime in the end of 1980s, after an offer of the military regime that promised a part of the political rights for the combatant ethnopolitical groups. A few ethnopolitical groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) are still in combat against the military junta. Both the Karen and Karenni state have been severely oppressed by the military junta. In Karen State, the number of Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs), by forced displacement or relocation by military junta, counts over 157,000 since the end of 2002, and over 240 villages were destroyed or relocated (Human Rights Watch 2005). In Karenni State, more than 81,000 civilians, equivalent to 25 percent of the total population, were displaced and 267 villages were destroyed (Burma Issues 2008). Karen and Karenni State are the locations that are troubled with some of the largest numbers of IDPs in Myanmar. The cruel oppressions of the military junta against Karen and Karenni definitely caused a grievance that incites the ethnopolitical groups to take up arms against the military junta. In some cases, those oppressions are closely linked with the interest of natural resources. As a reason for displacement, there are two main reasons: â€Å"conflict induced displacement†Ã¢â‚¬â€¢ a forced displacement induced as a result of conflicts in the area and â€Å"development induced displacement† ― a forced displacement for the purpose of development or exploitation of natural resource of the area (Burma Issues 2008). Karenni State is a very example of development induced displacement. â€Å"Karenni State a number of different development projects are being undertaken by the military junta including, mining, logging, hydro-electricity, industrial development and agriculture projects.† (Burma Issues 2008) The development project led the military junta set up military base along the construction sites, and forces extensive human rights abuses and causes environmental degradation. Massive forced displacement was done along both with its process and operation process (see Dams section in this paper). Also, there are several examples that conflicts were exacerbated over a right to control natural resources. One of the cease-fire groups, Karenni National Democratic Party (KNDP), was compelled to recruit into the military junta as the exchange condition for receiving the control of the local area. The KNDP participated in the Burmese troops in 1997 to attack a refugees shelter located in the side of Thai border. This means ceasefire groups fought against non-ceasefire groups, resulting in intra-ethnic conflicts. Moreover, the military junta granted control of areas and resources to the ethnopolitical groups who joined to attack non-ceasefire groups to raise a grievance among ethnopolitical groups. (KDRG 2006) Some displacement in Karen State was done for the purpose of seizing control of the dam, mining and logging sites, that is, the development induced displacement. However, the displacement of Karen State was triggered in reasons for conflict-induced displacement rather than development-induced displacement. Those conflicts can be regarded as the consequence of a series of oppression and development-induced displacement by the military junta (see Timbersection in this paper). The destruction of environment, livelihood, and cultural value of the ethnic people induced the KNU to take up arms against the military junta. As a result of prolonged numerous conflicts, the people in Karen State, especially the 157,000 IDPs, were severely victimized in both development-induced displacement and conflict-induced displacement. As the examples of Kanenni and Karen State, an abundance of natural resource have induced huge mount of cruel displacement and civil wars across the country, and it would be the body of the resource curse in Myanmar. Analysis from a Concept for Sustainable Development and Environmental Scarcity This section examines: 1) how the military junta, the body of Myanmars politics, is getting along with a major concept of sustainable development, 2) the relation between environmental scarcity and conflict, based on a academic theory. Promoting sustainable development is based on the three pillars: The social: this relates to human mores and values, relationship and institutions. The economic: this concerns the allocation and distribution of scarce of resources. The ecological: this involves the contribution of both the economic and the social and their effect on the environment and its resources. (Ekins 2000 cited in Banker 2006) For the social context, military junta has extensively violated human rights against the citizens, especially ethnopolitical group who live in the sites of natural resources. For the economic context, military junta has monopolized the profit of the resource to enforce their military capacity, intending to control over the population with the country. This resulted in the extremely poor economic growth of the country. For the ecological context, there have been a myriad of environmental degradations in any types of natural resource extraction (see sections of Natural Gas, Timber and Dam in this paper). Unflatteringly, the military junta has been doing the things in the opposite way of sustainable development. In the concept of sustainable development, scholars all agreed that social participation is an essential to promote sustainable development; making decision procedure should involve democracy with local communities (Banker 2006). In the case of Myanmar, the National League for Democracy gained the support from the majority of the country citizens in 1990 national election, and Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the Prime Minister. However, the military junta demolished the election and refused the citizens to participate the national politics, by making military threats. In recent decades, environmental scarcity could plausibly generate some types of violent conflict in a country much dependent on environmental goods and services. One of the types refers to â€Å"Disputes arising directly from local environmental degradation caused, for instance, by factory emissions, logging, or dam† (Thomas and Homer 1999). For the relation between environmental scarcity and conflicts, some scientists adopt a process called reciprocal causation. As the causal steps show, Myanmars environmental degradation by military junta caused a significant environmental scarcity in the local communities, such the cases of Karen and Karenni State that is still in a situation of violent conflicts today. All the cases of Myanmar, described above in the paper, have proved that the military junta has contributing to ignoring the countrys sustainable development, and inducing to create violent conflict against local communities. In this perspective, it is absolutely important to address the Myanmars ethnopolitical conflicts, based on environmental issues. Conclusion Due to the combination of the bad governance and an abundance of the natural resources, Myanmar has lapsed into a miserable situation: poverty, poor economic growth, continuous civil wars, etc. These catastrophic outcomes are definitely attributable to the failure of the natural resource management by the military junta. Even the effort to establish a democratic state by the citizens was destroy by the injustice of the military junta. It is necessary to have further cooperation both within the country and out side of the country (international communities). The attitude of international communities against the military junta is controversial.Althoughinternational communities have imposedeconomicsanctionandlimittheir trading, this directly benefited the nonbearing countries such as China, Thailand, and India. As a result, the economic sanction has decreased the performance of the countrys economic growth; Myanmar has to sell their products in cheap price due to the lack of trade partners. Besides, the interest between China and Myanmar has hindered the use of Responsibility to Protect of United Nations Security Council. In any case, international communities have to immediately come up with another alternative to change the military junta. For the cooperation within the country, it is important to refer to the capacity of ethnopolitical minorities. Although some ethnopolitical minorities have some power to negotiate with the military junta, each group has their own policy and sometimes the policies among ethnopolitical minorities are incompatible. If there is a chance to overcome the power of the military regime, it is a time when all the ethnopolitical minorities and citizens unite their purpose for the democracy for whole nation, not pursuing each own political rights. Reference: ALTSEAN-Burma(Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma) (2009) KEY ISSUES ENVIRONMENT, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.altsean.org/Key%20Issues/KeyIssuesEnvironment.htm Collier, P. (2007) The Bottom Billion, Oxford: Oxford University Press Dennis, J. V. (1999) A REVIEW OF NATIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES Myanmar, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/AE24021D05C497DDC725682E003722D4/$FILE/FULLTEXT.html Burma Issues (March 2008) Living Ghosts -The spiraling repression of the Karenni population under the Burmese military junta, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs4/livingghosts.pdf EarthRights International (ERI) (April 2008) The Human Cost of Energy, Retrieved on 23rd January 2010 from http://www.earthrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/Human-Cost-of-Energy.pdf Humphreys, M. et al (2007) Escaping the Resource, New York: Curse Columbia University Press Human Rights Watch (1989) BURMA (Myanmar), Retrieved on January 22nd 2010 from http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1989/WR89/Burma.htm Human Rights Watch; Vol. 17, No.4 (June, 2005). â€Å"They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again† The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Karen State: New York. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.ashleysouth.co.uk/files/Human_Rights_Watch_2005.pdf Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) (2006) Dammed by Burmas Generals, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.khitpyaingnews.org/reports/Dammed%20by%20Burmas%20Generals.pdf Kramer T. (July, 2009) Neither War Nor Peace: The Future of the Cease-Fire Agreements in Burma, Transnational Institute. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/TNI_Burma_CeasefireAgreements.pdf Pan Kachin Development Society (PKDS) and Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) (2004) Destruction and degradation of the Burmese Frontier forests, Amsterdam: Kaboem, Rerieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.aaa.htm Taisamyone (6th July, 2007) Editorial: Disproportionate military expenditure in Burma, Burma Digest, Retrieved on 22nd January, 2010 from http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/editorial-disproportionate-military-expenditure-in-burma/ Thomas, D. and Homer, D (1999) Environment, Scarcity, and Violence, United Kingdom: Princeton University Press. Yao Amber (2008) Natural gas tops Myanmar exports in 2007-08, Xinhua News Agency, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/15/content_8374394.htm

Comparing Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing Essay -- Compare

Comparing Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing As illustrated by the two plays Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare was a true romantic. In each play, his characters suffer great hardship, but in the end, he delivers them to a life of eternal love. Characters plot against each other in each play. The relationships of the people in his plays are not always what they seem. Whether it be a tragedy or a comedy, Shakespeare encompasses three elements into his plays: love, intrigue, and identity. Love is the biggest theme in both Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing. In both plays, hate acts as a force that attempts to tear both lovers apart, but their love holds them together. In Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers’ families hate one another. As a result, Romeo and Juliet are not allowed to see each other so they have to meet in secret. Despite their families’ attempting to interfere, Romeo and Juliet end up with one another for eternity in the after-life. In Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio and Hero plan to be married. Don John deceives Claudio into believing Hero is having an affair with one of his men. Claudio then calls off the wedding. When he discovers the truth, they marry immediately. In both plays love is the bond that holds the lovers together, in spite of many obstacles the two face. Intrigue is shown in both plays by the characters that act as liaisons between the lovers. For example, Romeo and Juliet cannot simply go out ...

Dreams in Invisible Man Essay -- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

   There are many types of dreams and many interpretations of those dreams. Dreams of power... of glory... of the past and the present... but none are as vivid as those that are found in Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man. The dreams start occurring in the very beginning of Invisible Man. In the infamous "Reefer Dream", IM talks about a dream he had after he used narcotics. In this bizarre dream, IM hears a speech on "the blackness of black", is assaulted by the son of a former slave, and is run over by a speeding machine. All of this occurs while listening to "What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue?"(pgs 9-12). This is one of the most significant dreams in the book. In another important dream, IM's deceased grandfather gives him a letter that says," To Whom It May Concern, Keep this Nigger-Boy Running (Ellison 33)." At the time IM had no insight to its meaning, but this dream would constantly be used as a reference throughout the story. Trueblood has a dream about his home, Mobile, Alabama, that directly affects IM's future. At the same time, Trueblood was having sex ...

Obesity and Cancer Risk

According to the National Cancer Institute, obesity is a condition in which a person has an abnormally high and unhealthy proportion of body fat. Obesity is measured by calculating a person’s BMI. Years of research prove that there are connections between obesity and cancer risk. Research shows us that an increase in body weight increases insulin levels in the blood, which promote the development of certain tumors and tumor regulators. Fat cells also produce adipokine hormones, which stimulate cell growth.Leptin, which is abundant in obese people, acts on a receptor on the brain where a person exhibits appetite and promotes cell proliferation, or cell growth. Essentially, excess body weight is the catalyst for hormones in the body to not function properly while additionally promoting cell growth, which is the major cause of cancer spread. In 2007 research found 34,000 new cases of cancer in men and 50,500 new cases in women due to obesity. It is estimated that 1:5 cancer relat ed deaths are due to overweight and obesity.Obesity is associated with several cancers in the body, including in the esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, kidney, thyroid, gallbladder, breast (after menopause) and endometrium (the lining of the uterus). Weight gain affects the body’s immune system, certain hormones including insulin and estrogen, and factors that regulate cell division. Scientists in the American Cancer Society admit that research is limited in learning whether or not weight loss can reduce cancer risk.There is growing evidence to suggest that a reduction in weight may diminish the risk of breast cancer, after menopause, as well as more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. However, obese people who lose weight often reduce certain hormone levels that relate to cancer risk, such as insulin and estrogen. Cites: National Cancer Institute http://www. cancer. gov The American Cancer Society http://www. cancer. org The PubMed Data base http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed