Is your adolescent son or daughter overweight or obese? Beware, it may increase his or her risk of developing colon cancer in adulthood, a research has showed.
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Men more prone to colon cancer than women
- The study showed that overweight and obesity were associated with 53% and 54% higher risks of colon cancer for men and women, respectively.
- Obesity was also associated with a 71 per cent increased risk of rectal cancer
- in men and more than a two-fold increased risk in women.
- While the exact cause of the disease is not known, age, a diet high in red and processed meat,
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- not exercising, drinking and smoking and a family history of the disease can increase risk.
- “The findings come at a time of growing concern about the impact of adolescent overweight and obesity on chronic disease later in life,” said Zohar Levi, from the Tel Aviv University in Israel.
- For the study, published in the journal CANCER, the team analysed information on 1,087,358
- Jewish males and 707,212 Jewish females who underwent health examinations,
- including measures of body mass index (BMI), at age 16 to 19 years (predominantly aged 17 years).
- Over a median follow-up of 23 years, 2,967 new cases of colorectal cancer were identified,
- including 1,977 among men (1,403 colon, 574 rectum) and 990 among women (764 colon, 226 rectum).