Colon Cancer and Obesity: Is Your Son Overweight? It May Lead to Colon Cancer

Though the exact causes of cancer is still not clear, most cases start with the development and the spread of aggressive cancer cells in a certain part of the body that begin to destroy the healthy, disease fighting cells. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the world and occurs with a change in the DNA of the colon. Some of the most recent researches have linked regular consumption of tree nuts with less chances of colon cancer recurrence. Effects of a Mediterranean diet and regular exercising in colon cancer patients whose disease had not spread to any other part of the body have also been studied.

A latest study presented at the European Congress on Obesity, Portugal, reveals that childhood obesity can make male kids susceptible to colon cancer. The results showed that boys who were overweight (BMI greater than 17.88 kg/m2) at the age of 7 years but with normal weight (BMI under 25.0 kg/m2) as young men had similar risk of adult colon cancer as those who maintained a stable, healthy weight throughout.(Also Read: Eating Nuts Can Prevent Colon Cancer Recurrence, Claims Study)

"Overweight boys that lose weight and achieve a normal-weight status by young adulthood do not carry an increased risk of adult colon cancer compared with boys who remain normal-weight as young men. However, overweight boys who remain overweight as young men have an increased risk of adult colon cancer. These results highlight the importance of weight management in childhood," said Britt Wang Jensen from Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, in Denmark.

Inputs from IANS