A new study has identified obesity as a key factor driving the rise in 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 among younger adults during this period, while smoking, alcohol consumption, red meat intake, and physical inactivity have remained stable or declined. Excess weight was associated with 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, according to the researchers. However, they caution that obesity alone does not fully explain the rise, suggesting other unknown factors may be involved.
Prof 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.”
The study coincides with recent figures showing cancer diagnoses in the UK have reached a record high, with over 403,000 people diagnosed each year. Cancer Research UK’s chief executive Michelle Mitchell called for government action on junk food advertising and promotion to help people maintain a healthy weight.
