May 18, 2023 – Young men who gain a whole lot of weight between the ages of 17 and 29 appear to have an increased risk of developing and dying from an aggressive type of prostate cancer later in life, in response to a brand new Swedish study.
The results come from Obesity and Disease Development Sweden (OPPORTUNITIES) study presented on Tuesday on the European Obesity Congress 2023.
The researchers examined data from 258,477 men who had a minimum of three weight measurements taken between the ages of 17 and 60.
In most cases (83%), men's weight was measured objectively, in 5% of cases it was measured by the person, and in 15% of cases the measurement was based on memory.
Overall, men who gained just over 1 pound per 12 months (1.10 kilos) had a ten% increased risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer later in life and a 29% increased risk of dying from it in comparison with those that maintained a stable weight.
Further evaluation showed that this was largely as a consequence of a significantly increased risk amongst men who gained weight between the ages of 17 and 29.
A complete weight gain of about 29 kilos during this era was related to a 13% increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer and a 27% increased risk of dying from the disease.
“We don't know whether weight gain itself or the long duration of obesity is the main reason for the association we observe,” said lead researcher Dr. Marisa da Silva from the Department of Translational Medicine at Lund University in Malmö, Sweden.
“However, you have to gain weight to get heavier. Therefore, preventing excessive weight gain in young men is imperative to prevent prostate cancer,” she said.
Other risk aspects for prostate cancer – reminiscent of increasing age, a family history of the disease and various genetic markers – can't be modified, so it's “vitally important” to discover the danger aspects that could be modified, she said.
In the USA, prostate cancer is the second most common Cancer in men (after skin cancer); over 288,000 recent cases are estimated for 2023, causing nearly 35,000 deaths.
Prostate cancer is the second commonest cancer in men worldwide (after lung cancer). More than 1.4 million cases are diagnosed worldwide every year.