Why is cancer striking earlier? One answer could be a diet of ultra-processed foods

‘Limiting access to ultra-processed foods is only possible if policies are put in place to subsidise healthier options, especially for low-income families.’ Photograph: Nick Sinclair/Alamy

Across high-income countries, from Britain to Denmark to the US, cancers in people under the age of 50 are becoming more common. This is quite an unusual pattern given that, for decades, cancer was seen as an affliction of old age. In fact, the high rates of cancer in high-income countries in much older people – above the age of 80 – was a sign of humans overcoming infectious diseases to live a long life before chronic diseases such as cancer would set in.

So the increase in cancer rates in younger people has come as a surprise. The numbers are stark. Data from the G20 group of industrialised countries indicates that between 1990 and 2019, cancer rates increased by 22% in the age group 25-29. Rates of cancer in the next age group, 30-34, are at the highest level ever. And given cancer screening classically isn’t routine in younger age groups, these cancers tend to go undiagnosed for longer with the tumours being more aggressive.