Cancer rates are on the rise for younger generations, as a recent study in the journal Lancet Public Health demonstrates. For Generation X and Millennials, the rates for 17 different types of cancers have increased dramatically, with many cases linked to the rise in obesity rates.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) analyzed information from nearly 24 million patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer (with over 7 million fatal cases) between Jan. 1, 2000 and Dec. 31, 2019. Within that cohort, the ACS discovered that the incidence rates have skyrocketed for 17 of the 34 types of cancers among two specific demographics: Generation X and Millennials. Notably, these include cancers that are linked to obesity including "colorectum, uterine corpus, gallbladder and other biliary, kidney and renal pelvis, and pancreas" cancers.
