Weight gain before age 30 increases risk of deadly prostate cancer, study finds

May 18, 2023 – Young men who gain a lot of weight between the ages of 17 and 29 appear to be at increased risk of developing and dying from an aggressive form of prostate cancer, according to a new Swedish study.

The finding comes from Obesity and Disease Development Sweden (ODD) study presented at the European Congress on Obesity 2023 on Tuesday.

The researchers analyzed data from 258,477 men who had at least three weight measurements between the ages of 17 and 60.

In the majority of cases (83%), the men’s weight was measured objectively, while in 5% it was measured by the individual and in 15% of cases it was based on memory.

Overall, men who gained a little more than 1 pound per year (1.10 pounds) had a 10% increased risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer later in life compared with those at a stable weight. and a 29% increased risk of dying from it.

A later analysis showed that this was largely due to a substantially increased risk in men who gained weight between the ages of 17 and 29.

A total weight gain of about 29 pounds during this period was linked to a 13% increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer and a 27% increased risk of dying from the disease.

“We don’t know if it is the weight gain itself or the long duration of being overweight that is the main driver of the association that we see,” said lead investigator Marisa da Silva, PhD, from the Department of Translational Medicine at the University of Lund. in Malmo, Sweden.

“However, one must gain weight to become heavier, so preventing pronounced weight gain in young men is imperative to prevent prostate cancer,” he said.

Other risk factors for prostate cancer, such as increasing age, family history of the disease and various genetic markers, cannot be altered, so it is “vital” to identify risk factors that can be changed, he said. .

In the United States, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men (after skin cancer), with more than 288,000 new cases estimated by 2023, causing almost 35,000 deaths.

Globally, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men (after lung cancer), with more than 1.4 million cases diagnosed worldwide each year.