Being Obese, Overweight in Adolescence May Up Kidney Cancer Risk in Later Life

Being obese and overweight in adolescence may increase the risk of developing kidney cancer in later life, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the International Journal of Cancer. Being overweight has //been linked with a higher risk of developing a form of kidney cancer called renal cell carcinoma (RCC) among adults, but it's unclear if this risk is present during adolescence.

In a study of adolescents who were followed for 37 years, researchers observed a trend for higher RCC risk with increasing body mass index during adolescence, where a one-unit increase in body mass index conferred a six percent increased the risk of RCC.

The study included 238,788 Swedish men who underwent mandatory military conscription assessment between 1969 and 1976 at an average age of 18.5 years. Over the next 37 years, 266 men were diagnosed with RCC.

"This is, to our knowledge, one of the first studies to show that overweight and obesity in adolescence, in a large cohort, is associated with a substantially increased risk of developing renal cancer later in life," said co-author Dr. Pernilla Sundqvist, of University Hospital Örebro, in Sweden.

"New data supporting a link between adolescent overweight/obesity--alone and in combination with low physical working capacity--and renal cancer adds further important evidence supporting the implementation of early interventions within the rapidly growing group of overweight and obese teenagers."

Source-Eurekalert