US life expectancy fell for the second year in a row, from a high of 78.9 years in 2019 to 76.1 years if you’re born today. It would seem obvious to chalk that up to a worldwide epidemic that killed over 1 million people in the US and 600 million people worldwide. The life expectancy of a baby born today should not be affected.
Life expectancy projects how long a newborn should live. According to one new study, we are witnessing a new global epidemic driven by a dramatic rise in early-onset cancer diagnoses in people under the age of 50.
As the cancer rates rise in younger people, there is one main culprit to blame: The Standard American Diet, also known around the world as the “Western Diet” full of processed carbs, added sugar, red meat, unhealthy fat, and fried food.
Why is the disease coming for us now? It’s due to our poor diet.
Cancer is the Second Leading Cause of Death Globally
According to the World Health Organization, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths, or one in six, up until the years before the swine flu. The most common types of cancer in men and women are lung, breast, colorectal, stomach, and liver. If caught early, many of them are treatable.
Overgrowth of cells in an organ of the body is a hallmark of cancer. Any part of the body can become a host for cancer cells, which if allowed to grow undetected and not swept away by the body’s strong immune system, may form tumors in that organ, where cancer is best treated by medical interventions. It is harder to cure cancer when the cancer cells travel through the bloodstream and into other parts of the body.
According to the National Cancer Institute, more men get cancer than women. One in three women and one in two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. According to studies, men are more likely to smoke, drink and eat more red meat and processed meat than women are.
A diet high in red meat and processed meat has been linked to colon cancer. Red and processed meat is considered a carcinogen by the World Health Organization, meaning that it causes cancer in people who eat it regularly.
Worldwide Cancer Diagnosis Shifts Younger
According to a new study published in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, the number of people under the age of 50 being diagnosed with cancer is increasing every decade. There are current evidence and future implications.
Over the past several decades, the incidence of early-onset cancers, those diagnosed in adults under 50 years of age, is up.
- breast
- colorectum
- endometrium
- esophagus
- extrahepatic
- bile duct
- gallbladder
- head & neck
- kidney
- liver
- bone marrow
- pancreas
- prostate
- stomach
- thyroid
One factor is the increased use of early screening for cancer at a younger age, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, since doctors know that detecting early cancer or precancerous polyps in the colon, for example, can be a lifesaver when treated or removed before these can grow into full blown
Western Diet is Linked to Cancer
The study authors wrote that the biggest change in the past 40 years has been the shift in diet and lifestyles. The Western Diet is so bad that younger people are more likely to get cancer than their parents are, because they are eating more fast food and less fruits and vegetables.
Changes in diet, lifestyle, obesity, environment, and the microbiome are the biggest risk factors. The next important step is to study early-life exposures to things like the Western Diet, and their implications for multiple cancer types.
The authors called on the public and health care professionals to be aware of the implications of the cancer epidemic on health care and life expectancy. We all need to be more aware of the rising cancer rates in young people and take seriously any possible prevention and diagnosis steps to save lives.
The authors say the burden is on us to reduce the number of cancer deaths because other communicable diseases will continue to threaten young people.
Cancer is Linked to Obesity
There are at least 13 types of cancer that are linked to obesity, and the American Cancer Society has an entire section on its website that shows this. The role of diet has been associated with cancer in study after study over the years.
The author of The Cancer Code has decades of research to back up his claim that diet is linked to cancer. He explains in his book how growth hormones tell cells to grow. The cells grow when theinsulin goes up. He says that includes the cells of cancer.
He explained that when someone eats less or intermittent fasts, the body’s cells are allowed to do the important housework of autophagy, which is essentially sweeping out dead cells, particles of viruses, and other unwanted or unneeded substances and toxins that make their way into our systems through
According to the American Cancer Society, 11 percent of all cancers in women are linked to being overweight, and 5 percent in men. There are some cancers linked to being obese.
- Breast cancer (in post-menopausal women)
- Colon and rectal cancer
- Endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus)
- Esophagus cancer
- Gallbladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Pancreas cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Meningioma (a tumor of the lining of the brain and spinal cord)
Being overweight or obese may raise the risk of other cancers.
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Male breast cancer
- Cancers of the mouth, throat, and voice box
- Aggressive forms of prostate cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, being overweight during childhood and young adulthood might be more of a risk factor than gaining weight later in life. The recent study on early-onset cancer points to risk factors such as poor diet early in life.
Your Cancer Risk Depends on Your Age
The study found that people who were born more than 50 years ago had higher rates of early-onset cancer. People born in the 70s have a higher chance of early-onset cancer than people born in the 1960s, and people born in the 1980s have a higher chance of early-onset cancer than people born in the 1970s.
The researchers were alarmed by the fact that the age of diagnosis is creeping younger, and they offered up possible explanations, including low activity rates and a sedentary lifestyle early in life. Increasing alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and even having babies later in life are possible culprits.
The Causes Started in the Mid-20th Century
The stage was set early for this type of increase in cancer among younger people because they have eaten highly processed foods their entire lives. Their lifestyles have gotten more sedentary and their exposure to environmental risks has increased as a result, including toxins and pollutants in the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat.
The effects of all these factors and their effects have taken time to accumulate, but now scientists can see a rise in impact on the population in the growth of early-onset cancer. They have identified lifestyle factors that could increase cancer risk.
- The Western Diet, high in saturated fats, red meat, processed meat, sugar, and ultra-processed foods, and low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber
- Lower breastfeeding rates and increased formula milk consumption
- Increased alcohol consumption
- Smoking habits, including second-hand smoke or in-utero exposure
- Reduced sleep among children due to bright light and blue light
- Night shift work, which contributes to obesity and type 2 diabetes
- Reproductive factors: younger menstruation, fewer births, starting having babies later
- Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle
- Increased rates of type 2 diabetes
Among the 14 cancers found to be rising among under 50-year-olds, most relate to the digestive system, which makes clear the importance of a healthy plant-based diet that contributes to a healthy and balanced gut microbes as one way to lower cancer risk.
Bottom Line: Cancer is Rising in Under 50-Year-Olds Worldwide. Here’s Why
Cancer cases are rising in people under 50 worldwide and researchers believe the biggest reason is the Western Diet high.