Now 4 in 10 cancer cases are linked to being obese

OBESITY could be fuelling four in ten cases of cancer, a landmark study has revealed.

Research involving more than four million people indicates that the link between the disease and excess weight is even greater than feared.

Experts said the findings suggest obesity is now associated with more than 30 types of cancer – an increase from the 13 in which it is known to play a role.

They also warned the groundbreaking research indicates that Britain, where almost two-thirds of the adult population is overweight, is facing a devastating health time bomb. The study led by Lund University in Malmo, Sweden, involved 4.1million participants whose weight and lifestyle were monitored for about 40 years.

A total of around 332,500 cancer cases were identified during this time – and of these, there appeared to be a link between excess weight and the disease in 40 per cent of cases. In total, researchers pinpointed 32 forms of cancer with an obesity link – including 13 already identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2016. These include breast, bowel, womb and kidney cancers.

The new findings, to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice, also identify a further 19 potential obesityrelated cancers for the first time, including malignant melanoma, gastric tumours, cancers of the small intestine and pituitary glands, as well as types of head and neck cancer, vulval and penis cancer.

The study found that every fivepoint increase in body mass index – equivalent to gaining about three stone for someone who is a healthy weight – increased the chances of getting certain cancers by 24 per cent in men and 13 per cent in women.

Health charities said the findings should serve as a ‘wake-up call’ to ministers and called for restrictions on junk food advertisements to tackle Britain’s obesity epidemic.