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UK Biobank analysis suggests excess weight may account for more than 10% of cancers
AI-assisted summary Written by WellCareChina with AI assistance and checked against the original article.
An analysis of UK Biobank data published in Cancer Communications on 2 July 2026 estimates how much of the overall cancer burden is attributable to excess weight. Among 458,543 participants followed for a median of 11.8 years, in which 50,136 cancers were diagnosed, the population attributable fraction was 5.5% when body mass index categories were used, but rose to 11.5% when waist circumference quartiles were used and the first seven years of follow-up were excluded. The authors argue that earlier estimates of 2% to 8%, which relied on body mass index, probably understate the burden.
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Source tier A — open-access analysis (CC BY 4.0); the link goes to the PubMed record because the publisher site blocks automated access (dev-083). Our own summary, no full-text copy.