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You have a higher chance of getting cancer at a younger age than your parents. So what went wrong? | Devi Sridhar

Some change in our lifestyles and environments over a generation has caused this increased risk. What, exactly, is a mystery Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh In the field of global health, we often talk about each generation living longer and healthier lives than their parents. We’ve seen this in the gains in life expectancy, the sharp decrease in child mortality and in the near elimination of many vaccine-preventable diseases. But since the turn of the century this progress has stalled, and in some cases several health metrics have gone backwards. Take cancer, which was long thought to be a disease linked to old age. While most cancers do indeed still occur in elderly people, a new report highlights that a number of cancers are increasing in people who are under 50 , often referred to as “early onset cancer”. The report, undertaken by the

Image from linked report: You have a higher chance of getting cancer at a younger age than your parents. So what went wrong? | Devi Sridhar
Image from the linked report: You have a higher chance of getting cancer at a younger age than your parents. So what went wrong? | Devi Sridhar.Credit: The Guardian Thumbnail shown with attribution and outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the original article body. Image source Image shown with attribution and an outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the original article body.
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Some change in our lifestyles and environments over a generation has caused this increased risk. What, exactly, is a mystery Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh In the field of global health, we often talk about each generation living longer and healthier lives than their parents. We’ve seen this in the gains in life expectancy, the sharp decrease in child mortality and in the near elimination of many vaccine-preventable diseases. But since the turn of the century this progress has stalled, and in some cases several health metrics have gone backwards. Take cancer, which was long thought to be a disease linked to old age. While most cancers do indeed still occur in elderly people, a new report highlights that a number of cancers are increasing in people who are under 50 , often referred to as “early onset cancer”. The report, undertaken by the

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According to The Guardian’s source item, You have a higher chance of getting cancer at a younger age than your parents. So what went wrong? | Devi Sridhar, Some change in our lifestyles and environments over a generation has caused this increased risk. What, exactly, is a mystery Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh In the field of global health, we often talk about each generation living longer and healthier lives than their parents. We’ve seen this in the gains in life expectancy, the sharp decrease in child mortality and in the near elimination of many vaccine-preventable diseases. But since the turn of the century this progress has stalled, and in some cases several health metrics have gone backwards. Take cancer, which was long thought to be a disease linked to old age. While most cancers do indeed still occur in elderly people, a new report highlights that a number of cancers are increasing in people who are under 50 , often referred to as “early onset cancer”. The report, undertaken by the

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The development sits in VINI’s Science file for readers following research, health, climate, space, medicine, and scientific institutions. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-10-09T07:00:42+00:00.

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Primary source: You have a higher chance of getting cancer at a younger age than your parents. So what went wrong? | Devi Sridhar via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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