ALBAWABA Colorectal cancer, ranking as the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, is projected to account for approximately 150,000 new cases in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society.
While the lifetime risk for developing this type of cancer is around 1 in 23 for men and 1 in 25 for women, several factors have been identified by scientists, potentially increasing the chances of developing the disease.
Lifestyle-related factors such as diets rich in red and processed meat, smoking, heavy drinking, and obesity have been linked to colorectal cancer. But recent research suggests that the way our bodies tend to put on weight might also play a crucial role.
You may have encountered the terms "apple" and "pear" shaped body types, which are widely used to describe the distribution of fat around the body.
There are other body types too, such as the hourglass, inverted triangle, and the ruler.
Each of these is fairly self-explanatory, but which category you fit into depends on your genetics, lifestyle, sex, and age.
Unfortunately, numerous studies have found that the apple body shape in particular—that is, one with a larger waist and narrower hips—may increase our risk of various health issues, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. These associations persist even among those with a healthy BMI.
Now, new research suggests that waist-heavy fat distribution may increase our risk of colorectal cancer, too. "Body shape is mainly determined by a combination of environmental and genetic factors," Heinz Freisling, an epidemiologist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, told Newsweek.
In a study published in the journal Science Advances, Freisling and colleagues found that individuals who were tall with a "centrally obese" body type—i.e., a tall apple shape—were more likely to develop colorectal cancers. General obesity was also associated with an increased risk.
The study analyzed data from 329,828 participants from the U.K. Biobank—a biomedical database investigating the respective contributions of genetics and the environment to the development of various diseases—to investigate this relationship between body type and cancer risk.
Next, the team combed through genetic data from 460,198 participants to determine whether any specific genetic variants were associated with either of these body types.
Overall, their findings suggest that generally obese and centrally obese, apple-shaped individuals are at a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, although the genetic mechanisms that underpin these body types and potential risk factors likely have different biochemical origins.
"One of the intriguing findings of our study is that these body types seem to affect the health of the digestive system, or specifically the colorectum, through systemic rather than local processes," Freisling said.
Of course, these results are still observational, and human bodies come in all shapes and sizes. However, the study is an important step toward recognizing the importance of genetic diversity and body type when considering cancer risk analysis.
