The skinny on colon cancer is this - not only fat people have a higher risk of getting it. Those who are underweight are in the same boat.
This surprising finding has emerged from the long-term Singapore Chinese Health Study, which involves more than 50,000 participants.
The study, funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute in the United States, began in 1993 with more than 63,000 people between the ages of 45 and 74.
The results surprised the research team, whose members included researchers from the University of Minnesota in the US.
Associate Professor Koh Woon Puay, the principal investigator of this study, toldThe Straits Times: "We're trying to understand how this is biologically plausible."
In its paper, the team suggests that the higher risk of colon cancer among underweight people could be due to something called 'oxidative DNA stress'.
This surprising finding has emerged from the long-term Singapore Chinese Health Study, which involves more than 50,000 participants.
The study, funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute in the United States, began in 1993 with more than 63,000 people between the ages of 45 and 74.
The results surprised the research team, whose members included researchers from the University of Minnesota in the US.
Associate Professor Koh Woon Puay, the principal investigator of this study, toldThe Straits Times: "We're trying to understand how this is biologically plausible."
In its paper, the team suggests that the higher risk of colon cancer among underweight people could be due to something called 'oxidative DNA stress'.
These mild inflammations hit those who are underweight, damaging their immune system and allowing cancer cells to proliferate.
This is unlike what causes cancer in overweight people. They are believed to have more insulin in their system, which might be responsible for decreasing the body's ability to prevent tumours from forming.
The team studied colorectal cancer, which has become the top cancer in Singapore, and discovered that the risks faced by these two weight groups are significantly bigger, compared with that faced by people of normal weight.
They grouped the study population according to their body-mass indexes (BMIs), calculated by dividing weight by the square of height - all in metric form.
Among those with a good BMI of 21.5 to 24.4, it found that only 89 out of 100,000 had colon cancer.
Among the 'shoulder' group, with BMIs of 18.5 to 21.4 and from 24.5 to 27.4, the number of cases went up to 103.
But among those who were underweight, the incidence shot up to 119 - or 33 per cent higher than the ideal group.
Typically, a person who is 1.65m tall and weighs 50kg would fall in this category.
While skinny people were found to have a higher risk of colon cancer than those with normal weight, the amount of risk was still less than that faced by the obese group.
Among those with a BMI of 27.5 and higher - about 10.4 per cent of those studied - the incidence of colon cancer was 130 per 100,000, or about 46 per cent higher than normal.
Figures from Singapore's cancer registry show that of the three main races, the Chinese are more likely to get colorectal cancer.
Chinese men are twice as likely as Malay men, and three times as likely as Indian men, to get this form of cancer.
Source: The Straits Times/ANN
This is unlike what causes cancer in overweight people. They are believed to have more insulin in their system, which might be responsible for decreasing the body's ability to prevent tumours from forming.
The team studied colorectal cancer, which has become the top cancer in Singapore, and discovered that the risks faced by these two weight groups are significantly bigger, compared with that faced by people of normal weight.
They grouped the study population according to their body-mass indexes (BMIs), calculated by dividing weight by the square of height - all in metric form.
Among those with a good BMI of 21.5 to 24.4, it found that only 89 out of 100,000 had colon cancer.
Among the 'shoulder' group, with BMIs of 18.5 to 21.4 and from 24.5 to 27.4, the number of cases went up to 103.
But among those who were underweight, the incidence shot up to 119 - or 33 per cent higher than the ideal group.
Typically, a person who is 1.65m tall and weighs 50kg would fall in this category.
While skinny people were found to have a higher risk of colon cancer than those with normal weight, the amount of risk was still less than that faced by the obese group.
Among those with a BMI of 27.5 and higher - about 10.4 per cent of those studied - the incidence of colon cancer was 130 per 100,000, or about 46 per cent higher than normal.
Figures from Singapore's cancer registry show that of the three main races, the Chinese are more likely to get colorectal cancer.
Chinese men are twice as likely as Malay men, and three times as likely as Indian men, to get this form of cancer.
Source: The Straits Times/ANN
Warm Regard, Sara Pandian
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