A new study has identified obesity as a major factor behind rising cancer rates among younger adults in England. Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London analysed data from 2001 to 2019 and found that 11 types of cancer, including bowel and ovarian cancer, are increasing in people aged 20 to 49.
Obesity is the only known behavioural risk factor that has increased in younger adults over this period, while smoking, alcohol consumption, red meat intake and physical inactivity have remained stable or declined. Excess weight was linked to 10 of the 11 cancers identified, including thyroid, kidney and pancreatic cancer, with oral cancer being the exception.
Maintaining a healthy weight could prevent about 20% of bowel cancers, 35% of endometrial cancers and 27% of kidney cancers, the researchers said. However, they noted that obesity alone does not fully explain the rise, suggesting unknown causes may also be at play.
Professor Montserrat García-Closas, co-director of the Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “Excess weight is an important contributor, although it cannot fully account for the scale of the rise in bowel and other cancers. This tells us that multiple factors – including early-life exposures – may be acting together.” She called for stronger public health policies to tackle obesity across all ages.
The study coincides with recent figures showing a record high in cancer diagnoses in the UK, with more than 403,000 people diagnosed each year. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “Overweight and obesity doesn’t explain the rise in full though. Improvements in detection are likely to also be playing a part.” She urged the government to prioritise cancer prevention through measures such as restricting junk food advertising and making nutritious food more accessible.
