Obese Teens Are at Greater Risk for Colon Cancer

A study of almost 2 million Jewish Israelis found that teens who were overweight at age 17 had significantly increased risk for developing colon cancer as adults. A number of earlier studies that had also found a correlation between obesity and colon cancer risk relied on participants’ self-reported or self-recalled body weights for their data. The new analysis, published in the journal Cancer, used actual weight measurements from health exams.

For teenagers who were overweight or obese at 17, “we saw pretty much a 50 percent increased risk of cancer,” said Dr. Gilad Twig, a physician with the Israel Defense Forces and one of the study’s authors, as quoted in the New York Times. “This should be a red flag for fighting adolescent obesity.”

Sourced from: The New York Times

Published On: Jul 28th 2017