Adolescent’s weight, socioeconomic status may affect cancer later in life
Zohar Levi, MD, MHA, of the Rabin Medical Center in Israel, and his colleagues measured body mass index in one million Israeli adolescent males who underwent a general health examination at an average age of 17 years from 1967 to 2005, and through the country’s cancer registry, identified which of the participants later developed cancer. Participants were followed from 2.5 to almost 40 years, with an average follow-up of 18.8 years. The researchers were amazed to find that events — particularly weight and socioeconomic status — up to the age of 17 years had a tremendous impact upon cancer development later in life. …