The longer a person stays fat the more likely they are to develop bowel cancer, according to new research. A greater number of years being overweight or obese was associated with an increased risk of developing the disease. Scientists likened it to the "cumulative effects of smoking" on lung cancer. The finding is based on more than 10,000 people tracked for almost two decades.
Those with bulging waistlines throughout were two-and-a-half times more prone than peers who maintained a normal BMI (body mass index). Cases among participants who carried extra pounds for a few years increased by 25 per cent. Rates rose directly in tandem with the amount of time spent out of shape. The study in JAMA Oncology shows unhealthy lifestyles are a bigger factor than previously feared.
Corresponding author Professor Hermann Brenner, said: "The results of this case-control study suggest a greater role of cumulative lifetime excess weight of colorectal cancer risk than estimated by traditional analyses based on BMI measures taken at a single point in time."
