Cancer is a deadly condition that’s caused by cells growing and reproducing uncontrollably.
These cancerous cells can destroy the surrounding tissue, which includes healthy cells and organs.
Eating an unhealthy diet, smoking, and not doing enough regular exercise are all risk factors for cancer.
But people are also more likely to develop cancer if they’re taller, a scientist has claimed.
Taller people are more at risk of several different types of cancer, claimed Dr Leonard Nunney, form the University of California Riverside.
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For every 10cm in height, the risk increases by about 13 per cent for women, and about 11 per cent for men, he said.
The link may be caused by taller people having more cells in the body, said Nunney.
“One of the major hypotheses was that something was happening early in life that was making your cells more susceptible to cancer and, sort of incidentally, causing you to be tall,” Nunney told The Guardian.
“Whether that comes from a better diet or the fact that your parents happen to be tall doesn’t matter.
“It is purely a number of cells, howeverare caused that comes about.”
Taller people have an increased cell division rate, which could increase the risk of cancer, warned Nunney.
Melanoma skin cancer had an unexpectedly strong relationship to height, which may be caused by the growth hormone called IGF-1, he said.
But, Cancer Research UK said people didn’t need to worry about their height.
“A number of studies over the years have shown that taller people seem to have a slightly higher risk of cancer.
“This study suggests it’s because taller people are made of more cells, so there’s more potential for one of them to go wrong and become cancerous.
“But the increased risk is small and there’s plenty you can do to reduce the risk of developing cancer such as not smoking and keeping a healthy weight.”
More than one in three people will get cancer at some point during their lifetime, added charity Macmillan Cancer Support.
For most people, getting older is the biggest risk factor for cancer. In general, people over 65 years old are more likely to develop cancer than people under 50, it added.
Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of cancer. About 20 per cent of all cancer cases are caused by smoking.
Speak to a GP if you’re worried about the signs and symptoms of cancer, or if you think you may be at risk.