Rethink on cancer risk

THE risk of bowel cancer for obese people may have been underestimated, according to international research showing a higher risk of cancer the longer a person is overweight.

The study involved 5635 people with bowel cancer and 4515 people serving as controls and found the risk of cancer as a result of excess weight was higher when calculated using the person’s weight over their lifetime rather than their weight at any given time.

“Excess weight has been identified as a crucial risk factor for various types of solid tumours,” study authors said.