A new global report has shown our waistlines can contribute to 12 different types of cancer (file photo).

Losing weight can not only reduce your risks of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, it could also prevent you from getting 12 different cancers.

The World Cancer Research Fund identified links between obesity and seven different types of cancer in 2008.

That number has now ballooned to 12, according to the latest in its 'Continuous Update Project': Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer: A Global Perspective, released on Thursday.

The report, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, revealed weight is now linked to cancer of the liver, ovary, prostate (advanced), stomach, mouth and throat, bowel, breast (post-menopause), gallbladder, kidney, oesophagus, pancreas and womb (endometrial).

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New Zealand is the fourth fattest country in the OECD, behind Mexico, the United States and Chile, with 63.8 per cent of adults weighing in as overweight or obese.

About one in three Kiwi adults over 15 is obese, and a further 34 per cent are classified as overweight.

An estimated 1.97 billion adults worldwide and more than 338 million children and teens were considered overweight or obese as of 2016, the report said.

Oncologist Dr Chris Jackson said the report "fires a warning shot to health planners – New Zealand's rising obesity rate will contribute to a rising number of cancers in the future."

SUPPLIED Cancer Society medical director Dr Chris Jackson said the report highlighted the need for targeted prevention measures against obesity.

Jackson, a medical director for the Cancer Society, said Kiwis need to take strong action to reduce obesity.

Our rising rate of obesity is one of the reasons why the number of New Zealanders affected by cancer has reached an all-time high, and will continue to increase, he said.

The reasons why obesity is related to cancer are complex.

An excess of body fat can lead to chronic inflammation and may drive excess insulin production, which can promote the growth of certain cancer cells, Auckland-based physician and obesity expert Dr Robyn Toomath said.

Fat can also act as a trigger for a number of hormonal cancers, including breast and endometrial cancer, she said.

Obesity is often also related to physical inactivity and some dietary patterns, which can be further associated with cancer.

Jackson said New Zealand needed strong leadership from the government to prevent cancers, and to treat those affected by cancer.

"We have called for a 10 year cancer plan which should include strong cancer prevention measures against obesity, and other key risk factors for cancer such as tobacco, alcohol, excess sun exposure, and physical inactivity."

STUFF Research presented at the European Congress on Obesity showed obese people who received bariatric surgery were also 61 per cent less likely to develop melanoma, the fourth most common cancer among New Zealanders.

Separate research presented at the congress showed that undergoing bariatric (gastric bypass) surgery was associated with a 61 per cent fall in the risk of developing malignant melanoma.

The link between weight loss surgery and skin cancer was observed in a group of more than 2000 obese participants, who were followed for a median of 18 years.

University of Gothenburg researcher Magdalena Taube​ also found that people who underwent weight loss surgery saw their risk of skin cancer in general decline by 42 per cent.

New Zealand has the highest incidence rate in the world for melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer most commonly associated with excessive sun exposure.

In the study, subjects who chose to have the surgery as a treatment for obesity were compared to a further 2000 obese Swedes who were similar to the surgical patients in multiple ways — age, gender, body measurements, cardiovascular risk factors and personality traits — but did not go under the knife.