New analysis from the American Cancer Society (ACS) highlights an increase in twelve types of obesity-related cancers in millennials. Ahmedin Jemal who is the president of the ACS Surveillance and Health Services Research Program adds that this trend could potentially “halt or reverse the progress achieved in reducing cancer mortality over the past several decades.”
A few types of cancer the study found to be increasing in millennials that are typically less prevalent in the young, and are associated with obesity, include: colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, kidney, pancreatic and multiple myeloma.
At the same time, we are seeing the increase in obesity for millennials on a global scale. According to research done in the United Kingdom, seven in ten millennials will be overweight in their lifetime while only five in ten baby boomers got the same results.
This issue becomes all the more problematic when you understand the apparent correlation between obesity and cancer. While scientists cannot definitively say that excess weight causes cancer, the data shows that as children, millennials doubled the rates of childhood obesity and now could be suffering the delayed results.
The age range for millennials is 23-38 years old. Personal and professional lifestyles can be taxing during this age, among other reasons. Traditionally, this is a time in life when you are having your first child or growing an existing family, and increased obesity rates can easily tag along for that journey. Paired with a hectic mid-level to senior job, millennials would have less time to exercise.
Despite this, the news is not all bad, and more studies have shown a decrease in cancer casesand cancer deaths over the past few decades when looking at the population as a whole. If millennials want to stay in line with the healthier trajectory of their communities, it is time to take responsibility for their poor health habits.
Millennials are taking for granted all the resources they have to help them stay healthy. Nutritional and workout guides are readily available for free on any social media platform. Additionally, it is completely false that eating healthy is "too expensive" and impossible in low income areas. You don’t have to buy "organic-grain fed-non GMO-vegan-cruelty free" products at the grocery store to get healthy. With quality knowledge easily accessible like never before, millennials should make good on their new year’s resolutions and shed those extra pounds.