Weight gain as adult increases cancer risk by up to five times, research shows

Swedish study of 600,000 patients between 17 and 60 years old suggests there is no safe age to get heavier

Gaining weight as an adult increases the risk of cancer by up to five times, according to research involving more than 600,000 patients.

Obesity can cause 13 different cancers and is thought to be linked to another eight. But less is known about the impact on cancer risk of the amount of weight put on – and when in life it is gained.

To find out, researchers at Lund University in Sweden analysed weight and cancer incidence data from more than 600,000 men and women and found there was no safe age to get heavier.

The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, measured the weight of more than 250,000 men and just under 380,000 women an average of four times between the ages of 17 and 60. It also tracked their cancer diagnoses until 2023.