Childhood obesity doesn’t just put kids at risk for diabetes and heart disease later in life. New research out of Tel Aviv University finds extra weight in adolescence significantly raises the odds of being diagnosed with bladder, urinary tract and colorectal cancers in adulthood.
Researchers at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center found that obese adolescents – defined as having a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile and above – are nearly 1.5 times more likely to develop cancer as adults as their normal-weight peers.
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Although the study, published in the journals Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention and Obesity, involved more than 1 million young Israelis, investigators said the findings have significant implications for U.S. residents, noting one in three American children and teenagers are overweight or obese, according to the American Heart Association.
For the study, researchers tracked 1.1 million males in the Israeli Defense Forces for 18 years and discovered “a clear link” between childhood BMI and those who were diagnosed with cancers later in life.
Lead researcher Dr. Ari Shamiss said findings point up a need for more research into the possible links between childhood obesity and other cancers and health conditions, as well as possible genetic factors.
"We need to examine the questions of whether obesity is a direct risk factor for cancer or a confounding factor for a genetic variation, for example," he said.
Future studies should also attempt to determine if weight loss in childhood or adulthood can reduce cancer risk, Shamiss said.
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