Experts pinpoint reason for huge surge in cases of bowel and colon cancer - and twelve other types
Analysing data from 33,000 obesity related cancer deaths in the US between the late 90s and 2020 the experts found the number of fatalities had risen from 3.7 per million to 13.5 per million across the two decades.
This included deaths from bowel and colon cancer, a form of the disease known to be mysteriously rising among young healthy adults under 50.
The analysis also found certain parts of the population had been harder hit by rising cancer deaths than others.
These included women, older adults, rural population and people from Black and Native American backgrounds.
Obesity is known to increase the risk of 13 types of cancer, with being overweight the second biggest cause of the disease in Britain triggering one in 20 cases.
In the US, cancers linked to obesity account for 40 per cent of all forms of the disease diagnosed per annum.
Dr Faizan Ahmed, of Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Centre in New Jersey and lead researcher of the analysis, said the findings showed the importance of public measures to tackle obesity.
'This research underscores the need for targeted public health strategies such as early screening and improved access to care, especially in high-risk rural and underserved areas,' he said.
The analysis also found the burden of obesity-related cancer deaths was higher in certain parts of the US.
Regionally the Midwest had the highest rates while the Northeast had the lowest.
By state level Vermont, Minnesota and Oklahoma had the highest rates of deaths, while Utah, Alabama and Virginia had the lowest.
Obesity increases the risk of 13 cancers: oesophageal, breast, bowel, uterus, gallbladder, stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas, the thyroid and one type of brain and blood cancer respectively.
Having extra fat on the body increases the risk of cancer in various ways.
Too much body fat can cause levels of growth hormones to increase. This in turn encourages cells to divide more often, and the risk of mutations that could become cancer.
Fat also causes inflammation in the body where it accumulates which also encourages cell division and increases the risk of cancer.
Finally—for women—fat cells can produce more of the female sex hormone oestrogen after menopause.
This can lead to increased cell division in the breasts and womb, increasing the risk of cancer developing.
About one in four people in England are obese, roughly double the proportion in the 90s.
The increase has been even starker in the US with 40 per cent now considered obese compared to about 12 per cent in the early 90s.
While obesity is thought to be responsible for about 5 per cent of all cancers in the UK, this dramatically increases for certain types.
For bowel cancer—which includes colon and rectal cancer—obesity or being overweight triggers 11 per cent of all cases of this disease.
Men are especially at risk with research suggesting a man's risk of developing bowel cancer increases by 10 per cent for every 11lbs (5kg) he puts on in adulthood.
The risk of colon cancer in men increases by 30 per cent for every five increase of their body mass index (BMI).
For women the chances of developing colon cancer increases by 12 per cent for every five BMI they gain.
Experts have noted a concerning and mysterious rise in rates of bowel cancer among young adults, defined in cancer terms as those under 50.
A recent global study found rates of bowel cancer in under 50 year-olds are rising in 27 of 50 nations.
England is averaging a 3.6 per cent rise in younger adults every year-one of the highest increases recorded.
While the disease is known linked to obesity, experts have noted that the disease also seems to also be occurring in fit and healthy patients.
Some experts believe the explanation must lie in environmental factors young people have been exposed to more than previous generations.
While no 'smoking gun' has been found, there are multiple theories.
These include modern chemicals in diets, microplastics, pollution, and one recent study even pinned the surge on exposure to E. coli in food.
There are around 2,600 new bowel cancer cases in people aged 25-49 in Britain every year, and around 44,100 new cases among all ages.
Around 44,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK, with about 130,000 in the US.
The disease kills almost 17,000 Britons each year, with the death toll rising to about 50,000 in America.
Overall, just over half of bowel cancer patients are expected to be alive 10 years after their diagnosis.
The health burden of obesity— which costs the UK economy billions —is one of the reasons why ministers are so keen to rollout revolutionary new weight loss jabs.
Sold under the brands Mounjaro Wegovy, increasing access to these drugs is one of one the cornerstones of the 10-year-plan for the NHS.
The analysis on US obesity-linked cancer deaths was presented at the ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco and has not been fully published.
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Scientists have long linked Alzheimer's to a build-up of certain proteins in the brain, but there's now a growing debate over whether the presence of those proteins is the cause or merely a symptom of the disease. Lathe argues these proteins are actually produced as a defence mechanism against microbial intrusion, based on research suggesting the proteins have infection-fighting properties. Further evidence that brain-intruding microbes could be causing Alzheimer's comes from experiments in mice, where scientists have witnessed the fungus Candida albicans entering the brain after the rodents' immune systems were compromised. And in one pre-print study – which hasn't yet been peer-reviewed by other scientists – Lathe and his colleagues examined brain slices from deceased healthy people and Alzheimer's patients. They found large quantities of bacteria, viruses and fungi in both groups – but more in the brains from patients who had Alzheimer's. 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For instance, those people's brains might simply have had a weaker blood-brain barrier or some other issue, meaning more microbes entered their brains over time before being killed off by their immune systems. However, new evidence that microbes can invade the brains of animals like fish strengthens the notion that this could be happening in mammals – and perhaps even humans, Olm says. In a 2024 study, scientists labelled bacteria with tiny, fluorescent green molecules and added them to tanks housing salmon and trout. "After a week, you see these microbes making their way into the fish brain, lighting the fish brain up green," Olm says, and curiously, "[the microbes] seemingly live there without huge consequences for these fish over their lifetime." In any case, the notion of fungi and other microbes getting into the brain in old age – either due to a weakening brain immune system or a worn-out blood brain barrier – is more plausible. "I think we've now reached that threshold where there's enough smoke around this hypothesis… it's worth spending money on figuring out if that is happening," Olm says. More like this:• What your snot can reveal about your health• Why the microbes that live on your skin matter• The mystery origins of Candida auris Interestingly, fungi might not need to enter the brain in order to influence it. In a 2022 study, immunologist Iliyan Iliev of Weill Cornell Medicine in the US and colleagues found that adding Candida albicans to the guts of mice made them more resilient to damage of their gut linings caused by bacterial infections or heavy antibiotic use. Strengthening the gut wall may be a defence mechanism by the body to prevent the fungus and other microbes from escaping the gut and infecting other tissues, Iliev says. But the big surprise came when the team observed the rodents' behaviour. Remarkably, fungi-colonised mice were much more likely to sniff, communicate and engage with other mice – meaning that exposure to the fungi appeared to have some sort of behavioural effect too. Based on other experiments, the scientists theorise that certain molecules released by the mice's immune cells enter the bloodstream and somehow stimulate certain nerve cells in the brain that are involved in behaviour. "It was very surprising to us," Iliev recalls. It's a mystery why, at least in mice, this crosstalk between gut fungi and the brain exists. Is it a coincidence that fungus-triggered immune signals affect the brain, or "is that actually deliberately done by the fungus to benefit its survival?" Iliev asks. Perhaps mammalian bodies somehow benefit from changing their behaviour in response to fungi, Iliev speculates. There's no evidence yet that this crosstalk between gut fungi and the brain happens in humans, but the possibility would be worth investigating, Olm says. In recent years, evidence has mounted that gut-dwelling bacteria may be able to send signals to the brain via the immune and nervous systems, or by producing substances associated with the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and relaxation. In principle, Olm says, "there's no reason to think that fungi aren't doing this as well". (Read more about how gut bacteria could be influencing the brain). Some scientists are even investigating whether fungi could be involved in mental disorders. Several studies have found differences in the makeup of gut fungi in people who suffer from depression or bipolar disorder. In women with schizophrenia, those who showed signs of exposure to the gut-dwelling Candida albicans tended to score lower on tests of memory and other cognitive abilities, according to a 2016 study by Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Emily Severance and her colleagues. She is exploring the possibility that Candida overgrowth – caused by stress or antibiotics, for instance – provokes an imbalance of gut microbes, altering the substances they produce in ways that make susceptible people more likely to develop schizophrenia. If true, it could allow doctors to treat schizophrenia symptoms by giving people probiotics that help reverse the overabundance of Candida – which would in any case be helpful, she says. But finding an association doesn't mean that the fungi cause schizophrenia. It could simply be that these patients are somehow more prone to high levels of Candida. So far "we can only come up with associations", says Severance. 'I think that that's typical for a field of study that is very exciting – but still very early on in the timeline.' Which of our fungal inhabitants – if any at all – are really influencing our brains is something scientists hope to learn in the coming years. "[Fungi are] definitely important," Drummond says, "but exactly how they're important, I think, is still being worked out." One thing is already clear: while bacteria have long been in the limelight, it may be time we also pay serious attention to the fungi quietly shaping our health from within. -- For trusted insights into better health and wellbeing rooted in science, sign up to the Health Fix newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights. For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
