Aggressive Prostate Cancer May Be Fueled by Early Weight Gain, Study Finds

Researchers find men who pack on the pounds in their late teens and 20s may face an increased risk of aggressive and fatal prostate cancer later in life.

https://www.healthday.com/healthday-t...

Men who pack on the pounds in their teens and 20s may increase their risk of aggressive prostate cancer, a new study finds. Researchers say preventing steep weight gain in young men is imperative to preventing illness and death from the disease. They tracked more than 260,000 healthy men whose weight was measured at least three times between the ages of 17 and 60 as part of an obesity investigation in Sweden.

The results showed participants who put on 2.2 pounds a year between the ages of 17 and 29 had a 133% higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer and a 27% higher risk of fatal prostate cancer later in life. One author says a hormone previously linked to prostate cancer may play a role here as well. She states that "Levels of this hormone are raised in people with obesity, and a steep increase in weight may fuel this elevation and the development of the cancer."

She emphasizes that weight is a modifiable risk factor that may be crucial in reducing aggressive and fatal prostate cancer.

Visit HealthDay.com: https://healthday.com
Like HealthDay on Facebook:   / healthdaynews  
Follow HealthDay on Instagram:   / healthday_news  
Follow HealthDay on Twitter:   / healthdaytweets  
Connect with HealthDay on LinkedIn:   / 418188