CANCER rates among young people are soaring, Spanish scientists warn, amid an unprecedented global obesity crisis now affecting one billion people worldwide.
In a review of a landmark 2022 Harvard University study, Spanish researcher Montserrat Garcia Closas discovered that colon cancer diagnoses among adults aged 20 to 49 had surged over a research period of nearly 15 years.
Rates for a further five types of cancer – including leukaemia and breast cancer – have also been rising steadily across all age groups, the new study found.
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Garcia Closas, of London’s Institute of Cancer Research, said: “The six types of cancer that are showing increases worldwide are linked to obesity, both in young people and in adults, and the prevalence of obesity has risen in many of those countries.
“This likely explains part of the observed increase, although we do not believe it accounts for all of it. It is important to continue investigating other possible causes.”
The researcher added that other risk factors include sugary drinks, alcohol, and junk food, as well as a lack of exercise and exposure to pollution.
According to a 2022 World Health Organisation (WHO) report, one in eight people globally is now obese.
The alarming figure has more than doubled since 1990, and nearly quadrupled among children and young adults.
Garcia Closas’ research analysed data from 42 countries, though Spain – which lacks a national cancer registry – was excluded.
The study found that colon cancer rates among young adults surged by an average of 1.4% per year between 2003 and 2017, closely trailed by breast cancer (0.8%) and leukaemia (0.7%).
Rates for a further four types of cancer, however, have been dropping among younger adults in more than half of the countries analysed by Garcia Closas, with stomach cancer declining by 1.6% each year, cancer of the oesophagus by 0.9%, oral cancer by 0.4%, and liver cancer by 0.1%.
Garcia Closas said: “All of these cancers are linked to alcohol consumption, so a decrease in drinking in some countries may help to explain, at least in part, the trends we are seeing.”
The findings were published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the journal of the American College of Physicians.
According to a WHO report, colon cancer accounts for around 9% of cancer-related deaths globally, making it the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer.
Harvard University epidemiologist Shuji Ogino told El Pais: “I believe the most important message is that cancer rates will increase across all age groups as today’s younger generations grow older in the near future, unless effective preventive measures are taken.”
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