Heavier and taller children at risk

Heavier and taller children are more likely to develop kidney cancer as adults than their average-sized peers.

Astudyofmorethan300,000 individuals in Denmark, presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity, reveals they are at greater risk than their average-sized peers of developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as adults. RCC is the most common form of kidney cancer found in adults.

Although it often occurs in men between the ages of 50 and 70, the cancer can be diagnosed throughout adulthood. Medical experts don’t know the exact causes of RCC. “We know that overweight in adulthood is associated with an increased risk of RCC. We also know cancers take many years to develop. We therefore had a theory already being overweight in childhood would increase the risk of RCC later in life,” said lead author Dr Britt Wang Jensen.