A recent surge in kidney cancer cases is linked to obesity, according to Cancer Research UK.

 

In the last decade, kidney cancer rates have increased by 40 per cent in the UK, and this number is expected to rise.

 

Almost a quarter, or 24 per cent, of cases are linked to excess weight; 26 per cent are caused by smoking. While the number of people smoking is decreasing, the number of people, including children, are obese is continuing to rise.


The proportion of 10- and 11-year-olds who were obese in the UK in 2015-16 was 19.8 per cent, up from 19.1 percent the year before.

 

Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s Head of Health Information, said in the study: “It’s concerning to see kidney cancer cases rising like this. Being overweight or obese is linked to 13 types of cancer, including kidney, which is becoming more and more common.”

 

Scientists haven’t yet pinpointed how obesity causes kidney cancer, but one theory is insulin. Insulin is a hormone which is important in the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats, and the kidneys help process this hormone in the body. Excess weight can lead to insulin resistance, which can cause levels of insulin to rise, telling cells to divide more rapidly.

 

“Similar to smoking, where damage to cells builds up over time and increases the risk of cancer, damage from carrying excess weight accumulates over a person’s lifetime,” Dr Sharp said.

 

Childhood obesity has also caused a rise in the number of cases of Type 2 diabetes, a disease previously only associated with adults.

 

The topic of weight can be sensitive for kids and can be difficult to bring up if you feel your child may have started to become overweight. While a little weight gain is never a cause for concern, it’s still important to encourage a healthy lifestyle for your child.

 

Our MummyPages parenting expert recommends how you can healthily prevent your child from becoming overweight, or reducing the amount of weight they gain:

•    Limit the amount of high calorie foods that are readily available to your child.
•    Do not let your child eat while watching television as they will tend to not pay attention to how full they are and just keep eating.
•    Eliminate high calorie drinks like lemonades and fruit juice. Save these drinks for special occasions.
•    Pack your child’s snacks when you go out. That way you won’t be tempted to get something from a vending machine.
•    Encourage physical activity. Limit television and computer time and go for a walk with your child.

 

 

Ensuring they eat a healthy and substantial meal is also easy. Writing for MummyPages, family nutritionist Olena Polyakova suggests:

  • Involve kids in meal planning and preparation. Let your children wash fruit and vegetables, tear up lettuce or peel carrots and apples.
  • Buy healthier foods and keep them easily accessible in the fridge and cupboard. Keep sweets, crisps and soda out of sight or out of the house.
  • Keep fruit and vegetables ready to eat and available where kids can see them such as on the counter or table, and leave them washed, cut, ready to eat.
  • Make your own fruit smoothies and let your children be responsible for adding berries to the processor.
  • Blend cooked cauliflower into traditional mashed potatoes, or onion, carrots, tomatoes and other vegetables to make a spaghetti dish or homemade lasagna.
  • Eat dinner together as a family so you can monitor what your kids are eating daily. It is best to eat at the table, where you can teach them what and how to eat, and avoid the madness of eating when watching television.
  • Offering food rewards, such as "You can have some ice cream if you finish your broccoli," is a bad idea. Not only does it further raise the status of dessert-like foods, bribes also imply that the food they are being begged to eat must be really bad.
  • Young children should eat 6 small meals a day. Give them fruit at snack time instead of crisps or biscuits and serve small portions to avoid overwhelming your child. Give them the opportunity to independently ask for more.
  • Most importantly: You are your child’s most important role model! Don’t expect them to eat lots of fruit and vegetables if you don’t set a good example. Cut down on the junk food and eat more fruit and veg – it’ll benefit your health as well as the kids.

 

 

Every year, there are around 11,900 cases of kidney cancer in the UK; 7,400 cases in men, and 4,500 cases diagnosed in women. Around 4,300 people die from the disease every year.

 

Cancer Research UK projections show that by 2035 rates could increase by a further 26 per cent in the UK, making kidney one of the fastest growing cancer types.

 

According to Cancer.org, early kidney cancers do not usually cause any signs or symptoms, but larger ones might. Some possible signs and symptoms of kidney cancer include:

  • Blood in the urine (hematuria)
  • Low back pain on one side (not caused by injury)

  • A mass (lump) on the side or lower back

  • Fatigue (tiredness)

  • Loss of appetite

  • Weight loss not caused by dieting

  • Fever that is not caused by an infection and that doesn’t go away

  • Anaemia (low red blood cell counts)

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