Soaring obesity drives up rates of disease among females only

DEATHS of women from bowel cancer are set to increase this year in Britain, a trend caused by soaring rates of obesity.

- BY MARTIN BAGOT Health Editor

A review of deaths from a host of major cancers across Europe found that bowel cancer is the only one set to increase this year in the UK.

Also known as colorectal cancer, it is the type that killed TV presenter Dame Deborah James aged 40 in 2022. It is now the third most common cancer in the UK.

Researchers used health and population data for the UK and across the EU to predict the rate of deaths for each cancer in 2026, once ageing populations had been factored in.