Being overweight as a child and young adult linked to bowel cancer risk
A higher birth weight was also associated with an increased chance of developing the disease, according to a study.
Experts in the Netherlands reviewed 37 studies on body weight in early life and the risk of colorectal cancer – also known as bowel cancer – in adults.
Cancer is a complex disease which develops over several decades, so better understanding of its early origins is critical for more effective prevention efforts and understanding the research gaps
The research, which is published in the International Journal of Cancer, found an increase in BMI of 5kg/m2 heightened the risk of bowel cancer by 12% in people aged 18 to 25.
In youngsters aged 10 to 19, an increased BMI was linked to a 5-18% risk of developing the disease, while in children aged two to nine, BMI was linked to a higher risk of colon cancer.
Meanwhile, each 1kg increase in birth weight was linked to a 9% bowel cancer risk, the study found.
Dr Dieuwertje Kok, associate professor of nutrition and cancer at Wageningen University & Research, said: 'Although the relationship between adult body size and colorectal cancer risk is well-documented, the potential influence of measures of body size during early life is less understood.
'The team was excited to review results from 37 publications that explored birth weight, as well as body mass index across different early life stages.
'This study bridges the existing knowledge gap and enhances our understanding of how early life factors may affect colorectal cancer risk in adults.'
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with almost 44,000 new diagnoses every year.
The analysis is part of World Cancer Research Fund International's Global Cancer Update Programme.
Dr Helen Croker, assistant director of research and policy at the World Cancer Research Fund, added: 'Cancer is a complex disease which develops over several decades, so better understanding of its early origins is critical for more effective prevention efforts and understanding the research gaps.
'The results of this study show that raised body mass index across childhood through young adulthood is an important risk factor for colorectal cancer.'
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