TEENAGERS that are overweight are more at risk of 17 types of cancer in later life, research shows.
People who are fat at age 18 had a higher chance of developing deadly diseases including lung, brain and stomach cancer as they aged.
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For some cancer types, this was the case even if they were considered “healthy weight” by adult body mass index criteria.
The trend in surging youth obesity could cause an impact on cancer cases over the next 30 years, Swedish researchers said.
Dr Aron Onerup, of the University of Gothenburg, said: “Overweight and obesity at a young age seems to increase the risk of developing cancer.
“And we see links between unhealthy weight and cancer in almost every organ.
“Given the alarming trend of obesity in childhood and adolescence, this study reinforces the need to deploy strong resources to reverse this trend.”
One in 10 children aged four to five were obese in England last year, while a further 12 per cent were overweight.
The numbers were higher in children aged 10 to 11, with nearly a quarter obese and 14.3 per cent overweight in the same year.
Experts have raised concern about soaring levels, with hospital admissions for obesity in under-17s surging 40 per cent in a year in 2021 to 2022.
The NHS announced in July it is setting up 10 more clinics for obese children to cope with bulging demand.
Obesity is linked with a range of deadly conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and various forms of cancer.
Previous research has shown men are at greater risk of cancer in later life if they have low levels of aerobic fitness when 18.
The latest studies, published in Obesity and Cancer Medicine respectively, looked at how their weight level affects their risk.
The first studied a group of nearly 1.5million men that were tracked for an average of 31 years.
Those with a higher BMI at age 18 were more at risk of developing:
- Lung cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Brain cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Oesophageal cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Liver cancer
- Colon cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Malignant melanoma
- Leukaemia
- Myeloma
- Hodgkin lymphoma
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
This was the case even when their BMI was defined as “normal” — from 20 to 25 — for some cancer, researchers said.
Professor Maria Aberg, of the University of Gothenbury, said: “This suggests that the current definition of normal weight may be applicable primarily for older adults, while an optimal weight as a young adult is likely to be in a lower range.
“Our research group has drawn similar conclusions regarding BMI in early adulthood and later cardiovascular disease.”