Cancers rising in under 50’s. Do we have any sensible hypothesis as to why?

[ThatPeachSnake]

Ultra Processsed Foods? Drinking? I feel like we don’t smoke as much as previous generations…

I’m so very worried

Weight. Weight. Weight. Sedentary lifestyles. Drink.

Yes I agree.

but I also hear of young people getting cancer who are healthy and fit.

What type of cancer are these young people getting ?

I would also guess high levels of obesity in younger people and sedentary lifestyles. Of course there are some people who are slim & exercise lots who also get cancer, but statistically on a macro scale it’s probably unhealthier lifestyles.

I would say ultra processed foods have something to do with it. If you read 'Ultra Processed People' it will give you an idea of all the crap we put into our bodies that we're not equipped to handle.

My friend had cancer in her 30s and another in her forties. Both big social drinkers I think.

But also I think we have so many micro plastics... pollution...upf.... Who knows.

https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2023/01/24/early-onset-cancer-why-are-more-young-adults-being-diagnosed/

8/12 of the cancers are gut related… according to this article. So yeah- UPF, poor diets, the gut microbiome… does formula milk count as a UPF?

It’s been all over the news for a number of years. At least 40% of cancers are preventable, this is 10 years ago so by now it will be more.

This means we are actually doing things that are known to contribute to cancer. Off the top of my head I’m aware of smoking, drinking, diet, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, sun exposure. There are probably more.

If we take diet and obesity these are easily worse now and at a younger age, so maybe this accounts for some of the change in under 50s cancer risk?

Worldwide, so hard to be sure it's lifestyle really.

If one thing I'd bet environment. Micro plastics, chemicals and the like.

The under 50s I've known with cancer haven't been overweight or sedentary. If that's the cause, stats should show it. But this is global.

Unhealthy lifestyles. Too fat, too sedentary, smoking, drinking, partying, too much stress.

yes there are exceptions. But overall people need to buck their ideas up.

There seems to be a rise in bowel and digestive related cancers which suggests a link to food.

I think there's a difference between people in their 20s and people in their 30s/40s. The latter group grew up in the 1980s/90s and there were lot of unhealthy habits that were seen as normal then that have probably had a longer term impact on people's health.

Ultra processed food. 100%

So OP if half of cancers are preventable and half are not this does mean there will always be younger people with cancer (and have always been).

What we need to be thinking about are the factors that are within our control since it’s these lifestyle factors that are changing things.

Sedentary lifestyles. Weight. Too many chemicals.

But also people who are surviving other things that they wouldn’t have before is still likely a factor. I had cancer under 40 so count in that statistic.
However, not so long ago I would have died much younger as I had horrendous asthma and sleep apnoea as a child, and ended up in intensive care 4 times before 16. It’s really not that far back where someone like me wouldn’t have made adulthood (probably not even school age).

UPF, sugar & alcohol.
The way food is marketed now is a disgrace - bad food everywhere and it has become the norm.

Our food is churned out a high volume, farmers turn the earth over more, loss of nutrients.
Microplastics- It’s even in sperm.
Weight, fat, ultra processed food, alcohol, lack of exercise.
Pollution.
God knows what’s in our drinking water.

Is it just this age group? I know of 4 older people who have died this year and 2 others who are seriously ill.

UPFs/artificial sweeteners

It is that, possibly excess drink, lack of excersie/manual work, artificial ingredients in food and the land it grows on IMO

Rubbish food, full of chemicals, pollution being breathed in everyday. I believe these are factors as well.

I was thinking that as well, thanks!!

UPF is a bit of a grifter's manifesto. Eating loads of crisps is bad for you but the idea that artisan crisps are fine strikes me as middle class unevidenced bullshit.

Diet probably. Not moving enough day to day. But microplastics and the prevalence of them is quite new. They are found in breastmilk and semen. Right from conception there are now foreign bodies present. That is quite a scary thought.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/10/microplastics-found-in-every-human-semen-sample-tested-in-chinese-study

I think weight too, although that might be connected to UPF and sugar.