A new study from Sweden has shown that being overweight in your adolescence may increase kidney cancer risk in adulthood.
Kidney cancer is called renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Previously, scientists have found that being overweight is linked to a higher risk of kidney cancer.
However, it’s unknown if this risk exists during adolescence.
In the present study, the researchers examined data of 238,788 Swedish men.
All of the men underwent mandatory military conscription assessment between 1969 and 1976 at an average age of 18.5 years.
The researchers followed the health information of these men for 37 years. During the time, 266 men were diagnosed with RCC.
They found a trend for higher RCC risk with higher body mass index (BMI) during adolescence.
A one-unit increase in BMI conferred a 6% increased risk of RCC.
The results suggest that the finding supports a link between adolescent overweight/obesity and renal cancer.
It also supports the importance of early interventions in overweight and obese teenagers.
This is one of the first studies showing that overweight and obesity in adolescence is linked to an increased risk of developing renal cancer later in life.
One study author is Dr. Pernilla Sundqvist, of University Hospital Örebro, in Sweden.
The research is published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Copyright © 2019 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
Further reading: International Journal of Cancer.
