Many factors, including diet, weight, and lifestyle habits such as smoking and drinking, can raise your risk of cancer. However, there are also factors beyond our control, like height, that can increase your chances of the disease.

The World Cancer Research Fund International’s Continuous Update Project found this to be true through their analysis of global evidence on the link between diet, weight, physical activity, and cancer.

The World Cancer Research Fund International’s Continuous Update Project found strong evidence that taller individuals have a greater risk of ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, colorectal, breast and kidney cancer.

The study specifically determined that for every additional five centimeters in height, there is a:

• 10% increased risk of kidney cancer
• 9% increased risk for pre-menopausal breast cancer
• 11% increased risk for post-menopausal breast cancer
• 8% increased risk for ovarian cancer
• 7% increased risk for pancreatic cancer
• 5% increased risk for colorectal cancer
• 4% increased risk for prostate cancer.

Why does height affect cancer risk?

Susannah Brown, Science Programme Manager for World Cancer Research Fund International, explains that it is not the height itself that increases the risk of cancer, but rather the process of becoming tall.

She adds: “The most important thing to remember is that it is not a person’s height itself – ie. the distance from your head to your feet – that increases your risk of cancer. Instead, it is the process that your body has undergone to make you tall that is linked to cancer.”

“In other words,” she further explains, “a person’s final adult height is a visual representation of the growth process that someone’s body has undergone from conception through to adulthood.

“This process is influenced not only by their genes, but also by modifiable developmental factors (eg. growth factors such as insulin, insulin-like growth factor, growth hormone, and sex hormones such as oestrogens) in the womb, and during childhood and adolescence.

“So height should be thought of only as a marker, or indicator, of the whole series of events and experiences from conception to adulthood – and it is identifying what aspect or aspects of this process influences cancer risk that is important.”

Height-determining factors

In addition to heredity, the diet has an impact on height.

“We know that people grow to their maximum height around the age of 20.”

The height of a person is determined by the combination of genetic and environmental factors, particularly the quality and quantity of nutrition received during growth and development phase, according to Ms. Brown.

Height can be influenced by environmental factors, as seen in the increase of height in populations in many countries during the early 19th century, which is attributed to improvements in hygiene and nutrition during that time period.

It is known that feeding high-protein formula to infants can accelerate growth, resulting in taller adults. Additionally, children who are heavier for their height, mainly due to fat, tend to grow at a faster rate and become taller as well as fatter.

“These children also reach developmental milestones earlier,” she adds.

In countries with high income, girls are taller and have a higher rate of obesity, and the age of onset of first menstrual period has dropped significantly over the past few decades, going from around “15 years to under 11 years.”

“All these processes are directly or indirectly the result of nutrition during development, and altered hormone levels (either hormones related to growth or to sex hormones),” she points out.

“These hormones influence both the visible structure of people (such as their height) and the growth and behaviour of cells within the body, so it seems likely that these are at least part of the reason that taller people are at higher risk of these six cancers.”

Some common symptoms of cancer include:

• Coughing, chest pain, and difficulty breathing
• Changes in bowel habits, such as constipation or diarrhea
• Bloating or a feeling of fullness
• Unexpected bleeding
• Lumps or masses
• Moles or changes in the skin
• Sudden weight loss
• Pain in the abdomen or back.

If you experience any of these symptoms, it is important to see a doctor for a diagnosis.

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