青春期肥胖危害大 或埋下癌症祸根

Being fat at 18 raises your chances of dying from cancer in later life, warn scientists. 科学家警告，如果在十八岁时肥胖，这将增加在今后生活中死于癌症的几率。

Men who were overweight or obese as teenagers were 35 per cent more likely to die from cancer as those who were a healthier weight, says a new study.

一项新的研究显示，那些在青春期体重超标或者有肥胖症的男性要比那些体重健康的人更有可能死于癌症。

Even losing weight during middle age did not appear to cut the extra risk of developing cancers such as lung, skin, kidney and prostate.

即便是在中年时期减轻体重，这也很难降低换上肺癌、皮肤癌、肾癌和前列腺癌的几率，此外还有中风的危险。

The research looked only at men, but women are likely to run a similar risk.

尽管这项研究的目标人群是男性，不过女性也具有相同的健康风险。

British experts behind the study of almost 20,000 men said the findings showed the importance of keeping a healthy weight throughout life.

英国的专家们在研究了20000男性之后，发现在一生之中保持健康的体重是件非常重要的事。

Medical Research Council (MRC) researcher Dr Linsay (correct) Gray, said it was the first time the impact of obesity in early adulthood on later risk of cancer had been closely examined.

医学研究理事会的研究院Linsay Gray博士表示，这次首次详细地研究青年时期超重与后期罹患癌症之间的联系。

Higher body mass index (BMI) - the scoring system of weight related to height - had been linked to several cancers, but always in later life, she said.

过高的身体质量指数，也就是体重与身高的比重，与日后得某些癌症有所联系。

Dr Gray said ‘It is very interesting that higher BMI at age 18 actually leads to a greater risk for cancer than higher BMI in middle age.

Gray博士说：“值得注意的是，在18岁时较高的身体质量指数要比在中年时期出现这一情况引发癌症的几率高很多。”

‘The message here is really clear: keeping your weight healthy as a young adult can significantly reduce your chance of developing cancer.

“这点是很明确的，在亲年时期保持健康的体重对于预防癌症有着至关重要的作用。”

In the study, MRC researchers in collaboration with researchers at University College London and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, analysed the medical records of 19,593 male graduates who attended Harvard between 1916 and 1950.

在这项研究中，英美两国的健康专家联袂合作，研究了在1916年到1950年间毕业于哈弗大学的19593男学生的医疗记录。

They found that men in the study who had the highest BMIs at age 18 were 35 per cent more likely to die from cancer than those with lower BMIs.

研究者们发现，在18岁时高身体质量指数会增加35%死于癌症的风险。

The link between teenagers who were overweight and later cancer was particularly strong for lung, skin, oesophageal, kidney, bladder, prostate and testicular cancers.

青春期体重超标与后期出现肺、皮肤癌、食道、肾、膀胱、前列腺和睾丸方面的癌症的两者之间有着紧密联系。

For example, men whose BMI was greater than the average score of 21.7 (which was still in the healthy range) at age 18 had more than a 50 per cent greater risk of dying from lung cancer than those with the lowest BMIs, even after accounting for whether or not they smoked.

例如，在18岁时身体质量指数超过平均水平数值21.7（同样属于健康范围）的男性要比那些底数值的人死于肺癌的风险增加了50%，而且吸烟与否对于此都没有影响。

The study found a man’s changes in BMI between early adulthood and middle age did not affect the risk, says a report in the journal Annals of Oncology (must credit).

研究还发现，青年与中年时期的身体质量指数的变化对于患病的风险的影响也相当有限。