A heavy load Being overweight increases risk of cancer

An extra four inches on the waist increases the risk of various cancers by 13 per cent.

The average waist size is 35ins and new research on more than 43,000 people found that sizes above that were linked to a greater chance of cancers of the breast, bowel, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, womb, ovary and kidneys. The new study, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, also found that three extra inches on the average hip size of 40ins increased the risk of bowel cancer by 15 per cent. Dr Julie Sharp, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Keeping a healthy weight can help you stack the odds in your favour.”