Bigger Waist, Bigger Colon Cancer Risk - WebMD

The bigger your waistline, the bigger your risk of colon cancer.

This finding, from an analysis of 30 long-term studies of colon cancer, reinforces the link between obesity and colon cancer in men and, to a lesser extent, in women. Obesity, the study shows, boosts the risk of rectal cancer in men but not in women.

Perhaps most importantly, the study suggests that belly fat is more relevant to colon cancer risk than fat in other places. For every 4 inches gained around the waist, the risk of colon cancer goes up 33% in men and 16% in women.