Researchers link obesity to 11 cancers in England
Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London found obesity was a key factor behind rising cancer rates in people aged 20 to 49 in England. The analysis covered 2001 to 2019 and identified 11 cancer types that increased over that period. wales online
Montserrat García-Closas said excess weight is an important contributor, but it cannot fully account for the rise in bowel and other cancers. The study also found obesity was the only known behavioural risk factor that increased in younger adults during those years, while smoking, alcohol, red meat and physical inactivity stayed stable or fell.
Institute of Cancer Research study
The researchers said excess weight was associated with 10 of the cancers they identified. Oral cancer was the only exception among the cancers linked to excess weight. Bowel cancer and ovarian cancer were both among the cancers rising in people aged 20 to 49 in England.
They said maintaining a healthy weight could prevent about 20% of bowel cancers, 35% of endometrial cancers and 27% of kidney cancers. The rise in younger adults did not fully match the rise in obesity, which led the researchers to say unknown causes may also be contributing.
Montserrat García-Closas on cancer risk
García-Closas said, "Excess weight is an important contributor, although it cannot fully account for the scale of the rise in bowel and other cancers." She added, "This tells us that multiple factors – including early-life exposures – may be acting together."
She also said, "However, we cannot wait to act. Tackling obesity across all ages, particularly in children and young people, through stronger public health policies and wider access to effective interventions, could slow the rise in cancer and prevent many cancers – and must become a national priority."
Michelle Mitchell on diagnosis trends
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said, "Globally and in the UK, we’re seeing a small increase in cancer rates in adults under 50." She said, "The picture is complex and we need more research to understand what’s driving the trend, but this study helps to fill in some gaps."
Mitchell said, "Overweight and obesity doesn’t explain the rise in full though." She added that improvements in detection are likely to be playing a part, meaning more people are being diagnosed at a younger age, while measures to restrict junk food advertising and promotion would help people keep a healthy diet.
One person in the UK is diagnosed with cancer every 80 seconds, and more than 403,000 people are diagnosed each year. For younger adults in England, the study points to weight as one of the clearest risk factors in a trend that still has parts the researchers cannot explain.
