What's the cause in young adult colorectal cancer?

(ABC) – March is the national colorectal cancer awareness month. In recent years, experts have seen an alarming uptick in the incidence of colorectal cancer in young adults. Now, new research looks to learn what's behind this disturbing trend.

Cleveland Clinic's doctor Matthew Kalady did not take part in the study, but says the results add to a growing body of evidence of a link between weight and colorectal cancer risk.

"For every increase in your BMI, there's an increased risk of colorectal cancer," Kalady said. "Where, people who are fairly fit, or what's considered a normal bmi, have the baseline, people who are obese at a two-fold increase in colorectal cancer at a young age."

Another study looks at how sedentary behavior, such as watching television, could contribute to the rise in young-onset colorectal cancer.

Researchers studied behavioral habits of young adults with diet, activity level and sedentary time. They found people who watched television for seven to fourteen hours a week of heightened risk of colorectal cancer.

And those who watched more than 14 hours of TV per week had an almost two-fold increased risk.

Doctor kalady says that they are not meant to be around the world, and lack of activity adds to their metabolism, which could lead to obesity and increased inflammation.

He says colorectal cancer is caused by many factors – some we can control and some we can not. To lower risk, he says it's essential to manage lifestyle factors within our control.

"The things we can control such as our diet, the amount of exercise we do not, smoking or not smoking, and basically your sedentary lifestyle or active lifestyle – those things are all very important, any chance you have to control the things that you can – It's the best thing you can do, "Kalady said.

Doctor Kalady says experts do not know whether obesity causes colorectal cancer but they do not know whether they are associated with one another.

It is more likely that it will be more likely that it will be a prone to colorectal and other cancers.