Obese teenage boys could have higher risk of bowel cancer, study says

Researchers find men who were overweight or obese when they were 16-20 are more likely to develop disease in their 50s

Teenage boys who become very obese may double their risk of getting bowel cancer by the time they are in their 50s, research suggests.

Past studies have shown that obesity in adults increases the risk of bowel cancer, but little work has been done on whether weight is a risk in adolescents. Scientists from Harvard University and from Sweden investigated a large group of young Swedish men who were conscripted into military service aged 16-20 to see whether their body mass index (BMI, a relationship between weight and height) in their youth was related to their chances of getting bowel cancer 35 years later.

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