Is Your Teen Obese? He/She May Have High Risk Of Colon Cancer

If your son or daughter is obese, you need to start worrying about them. A new study has stated that teenagers who are obese, have a high risk of colon cancer as adults. Researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel said that obesity and being overweight in teenage years increased the risk of colon cancer by 53% and 54% for men and women respectively. "The findings come at a time of growing concern about the impact of adolescent overweight and obesity on chronic disease later in life," said Zohar Levi, from the Tel Aviv University in Israel. "This is a huge cohort with a minimum follow up of 10 years, and all individuals had measured Body Mass Index (BMI), not just reported or recalled," he said.

Researchers have evaluated data of 1,087,358 Jewish males and 707,212 Jewish females who had to go undergo health examination, this included measures of BMI, at age 16 to 19 years (predominantly aged 17 years) between 1967 and 2002.This analysis was done till 2012. When the results came out, they found that over a median follow up of 23 years, 2,967 new cases of colorectal cancer were identified, including 1,977 among men (1,403 colon, 574 rectum) and 990 among women (764 colon,226 rectum).

Colon cancer happens when tumorous growths develop in the large intestine. It is not easily diagnosed, but with proper screening procedure doctors can discover it in a patient. Its symptoms include, irregular bowel movement and blood from the stool. Obesity's heart related health risks were already well known, but this study adds another horrifying dimension to the problem. 

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