Body Size and Polyp Risk

Yay! More pressure to lose weight! If you're bigger than you'd like to be, you've probably already thought about ways to trim down and reasons to do it. Well, here's one more.

A study published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention found that obesity and/or weight gain over a 10-year period can increase a person's risk of developing polyps of the colon and rectum. Virtually all colon cancer develops from polyps, and a personal or family history of polyps puts you at higher risk for colon cancer.

Think this link between body size and polyp risk is a fluke? Anything is possible, but a lot of studies have had similar findings. Some examples:

• Leptin: The Link Between Obesity and Colon Cancer?
  
• Study Finds Thick Middles Increase Colon Cancer Risk
  
• Obese Women are Four Times More Likely to Develop Colon Cancer
  
• Obesity Increases Colorectal Cancer Risk in Women

• Losing Weight to Prevent Colon Cancer
  
• Colon Polyps and Cancer Risk
  
• Polyp Size Gallery

_{Source: Sedjo, R. and Byers, T. "Change in Body Size and the Risk of Colorectal Adenomas." Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention 16 (1 Mar. 2007): 526-531. Accessed 24 Mar. 2007.}