Obesity in adolescence have been linked to bowel cancer risk

Obesity in adolescence have been linked to
bowel cancer risk.

According to a study,
being overweight in
adolescence can lead to a
greater risk of bowel cancer
later in life.

The research was conducted using nearly
240,000 Swedish men whom are followed for 35
years.

The analysis, which was published in the
journal Gut, revealed that teenagers that are overweight later in life
have twice
the risk of bowel cancer and this is even more riskier in
obese teens.

Read the full report as published by BBC health after the cut...

The World Cancer Research Fund
said the link between obesity
and cancer was "strong".
Bowel cancer is the third most
common cancer in the world,
with nearly 1.4 million new cases
each year.
Processed red meat and
abdominal fat have been linked
to the disease.
'Accelerated growth'
The participants in the study
were aged between 16 and 20 at
the start.
The overwhelming majority were
a normal weight, but 6.5% were
overweight and 1% were obese.
There were 855 cases of
colorectal cancer in the study.
However, the results showed not
all weights were affected equally.
Those who were obese were
2.38 times more likely to have
developed a bowel tumour.
The study, led by Orebro
University Hospital in Sweden
and Harvard University, said:
"Late adolescence marks the
transition from childhood to
adulthood and is a period of
accelerated growth, especially
among men, thus this period
may represent a critical window."
"It is important that we
understand the role of exposures
in childhood and adolescence in
the development of colorectal
cancer.
"In fact, the strong association
observed between adolescent
obesity and early-to-mid-life
colorectal cancer, coupled with
the increasing prevalence of
adolescent obesity, may shed
light on the increase in colorectal
cancer incidence among young
adults," he added.
'Strong evidence'
Rachel Thompson, from the
World Cancer Research Fund, said
the evidence suggested that
obesity was a risk factor for
bowel cancer.
"This finding is interesting
because it gives an indication
that bowel cancer risk might be
affected by our lifestyle habits
throughout the life course," she
said.
"In some ways, research into the
relationship between factors like
obesity and cancer risk is still in
its infancy.
"It will be interesting to see if
further research emerges in the
future to back up the apparent
relationship between body
fatness in youth and later-life
cancer risk."