Cancer Cases In Children Leap By 40% In 16 Years

Fast food diets and lack of exercise could be responsible for a rise in cancer cases in young adults, scientists have warned.

Alasdair Philips, science adviser at Children with Cancer UK, says there seems to be "a correlation between the lifestyle of young people" and a significant increase in the number of teenagers being diagnosed.

"They tend to be doing a lot less exercise and there's also a lot of fast food being eaten, which is fine in moderation, but we know they do contain cancer giving substances," he said.

"So if you eat well-cooked meat and burgers and it goes into your colon and hangs around because you're not doing much exercise, it's more likely to cause damage. I think that's part of the issue."

New analysis of official ONS statistics by Children with Cancer UK shows how diagnosis has increased by 40% in the last 16 years, with 1,300 more cases of young people getting cancer each year.

The stark rise is most evident in colon cancer which is up by 200% and thyroid cancer which has more than doubled.

"One of the rises that has taken us a bit by surprise is this rise in colon cancer which wasn't a young persons cancer.

Charlotte Hutchinson, 23, was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 13

"Only last week the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organisation, said they'd found a relationship between obesity and too much sugar - and colon and thyroid cancer."

Children with Cancer UK says "more money and more research" is needed to examine the causes.

Around 4,000 children and young people develop cancer each year in the UK and it is the leading cause of death in children aged one to 14.

Charlotte Hutchinson, 23, was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 13. She told Sky News that enduring two years of chemotherapy while trying to cope with the pressures of being a teenager was not easy.

"Obviously getting cancer at any age is never going to be easy, but as a teenager it is tough because you don't expect to get it." she said.

"As a 13/14 year old you expect to be hanging out with your friends and just being a normal teenager - and it definitely has a knock-on effect."