Obesity ‘increases risk of common cancer types’

A new study has demonstrated the potentially significant link between obesity and an increased risk of developing common forms of cancer.

Carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the study looked at factors affecting the likelihood of developing 22 of the most common cancers among 5.24 million individuals aged 16 and older.

A total of 166,955 people developed one of the 22 cancers studied over an average follow-up period of 7.5 years, with a higher body mass index being associated with 17 out of the specific types of cancer examined.

This study comes at a time when the number of people who are overweight or obese is rapidly increasing both in the UK and worldwide – a development that is expected to coincide with a rise in diabetes and cardiovascular disease cases.

Lead author Dr Krishnan Bhaskaran, National Institute for Health Research postdoctoral fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "Our results show that if these trends continue, we can also expect to see substantially more cancers as a result."

Currently, obesity affects one in every four adults and one in five children in the UK, but this proportion will continue to rise in the years ahead.