Older adults who are heavy, especially around the middle, seem to have a higher risk of developing colon cancer than their thinner peers - and exercise may lower the incidence of the disease, especially for women, a European study said.
More than 120,000 adults in the Netherlands aged 55 to 69 were followed for 16 years by the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. During that time, about two percent developed colorectal cancer, tumours of the colon and/or rectum, though most were diagnosed with colon cancer.
For men, waist size seemed to matter most. Men with the biggest bellies, gauged by their self-reported trouser size, had a 63 percent greater risk of colorectal cancer than men who were trimmest around the middle. Among women, though, a large waistline was only linked to a higher cancer risk in women who also got little exercise, defined as less than 30 minutes a day.
Women who topped a "44" in pants size - about a size 16 in the United States - and got little exercise were 83 percent more likely to develop colon cancer than women who had smaller waistlines and exercised more than 90 minutes a day.