Between 2001 and 2018, the number of U.S. women aged 20–49 with obesity rose steadily each year, with the most severe form rising faster. During the same period, the rates of breast, colorectal, and uterine cancer also rose, and these increases were closely aligned in timing across the population.

Higher rates of obesity in the early 2000s were statistically linked to higher rates of colorectal and uterine cancer in the following decade, indicating that obesity may be associated with cancer development after a delay of several years.

In U.S. women aged 20–49 between 2001 and 2018, those with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40) had a stronger statistical link to cancer rates than those with mild obesity, suggesting that higher body weight levels correspond more closely with increased cancer occurrence.

People with obesity have a higher chance of developing colorectal cancer compared to those without obesity, with men showing a greater increase in risk than women.

Adults with obesity have a higher likelihood of developing colorectal cancer compared to those without obesity, based on data from millions of people across multiple studies.

Between 2001 and 2018, rates of breast, colorectal, and uterine cancers rose significantly among U.S. women aged 20 to 49, with the fastest increases occurring in women under 30, especially White women aged 20–24 for colorectal cancer and Hispanic women aged 25–29 for uterine cancer.