Bigger waistlines linked to rise in kidney cancer

Expanding waistlines are blamed today for soaring rates of kidney cancer which have more than doubled since the 1970s.

There were more than 9,042 cases in 2009 and the rate has risen by 135 per cent since 1975, according to Cancer Research UK. Obesity is one of the main risk factors for kidney cancer – along with smoking – increasing the risk of the disease by 70 per cent. About a quarter of kidney cancer cases in men and 22 per cent in women are linked with being overweight, doctors say.

Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer Research UK, said: "Too few people know about the significant cancer risks associated with being very overweight."