UK bowel cancer death rates forecast to rise by third among under-50s

Experts say alarming projections for 2024 stem from surge in obesity, poor diets and physical inactivity

The rate at which people under the age of 50 in the UK are dying from bowel cancer is on course to rise by a third this year, according to projections that experts say are alarming and stem from a surge in obesity, poor diets and physical inactivity.

Death rates among those aged 25 to 49 are predicted to increase by 39% among women and 26% among men in 2024, compared with the average between 2015 and 2019, the last five-year period for which data was studied. The findings were published in the journal Annals of Oncology.