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Children living in poor conditions have an increased risk of developing cancer later in their life, finds a recent research. Poor diet early in life is associated with higher bowel cancer risk as they grow up, report the researchers.

The chances of developing bowel cancer are high in children that are brought up in poor conditions with fathers from low income group. Children living in poverty are likely to be affected by the bacteria Helicobactor pylori, which is responsible for stomach ulcers in human. As a matter of fact, stomach ulcer is one of the main factors that increase the risk of stomach cancer worldwide, according to Mirror.

Researchers from Cancer Research UK analyzed about 22 different studies in order to find the association between cancer risk and people's lifestyle right from childhood. As a result, the investigators observed that poor living conditions had a role to play in increasing the overall risk of death in people.

"Children who lead healthy lives with strong family and social support will develop healthier behaviours that are likely to reduce their risk of cancer later in life," said Dr Jyotsna Vohra, lead author and head of Cancer Research UK's policy research centre. "We already knew there was a link between poor living conditions as a child and heart disease. But our research provides more evidence of the link between a child's surroundings and their risk of developing cancer later in life."

The researchers also found a link between children from less advantage group and lung cancer. The children living in poor housing conditions with their parents and siblings are likely to be exposed to smoke for a long period of time if their fathers had the smoking habit. The researchers noted that having a healthy life right from the start would help great deal in avoiding the development of cancer during later stages of life.

"Children need a healthy start in life as this can influence their future health and risk of diseases like cancer," Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer prevention, reported Mail Online. "As more than four in 10 cancer cases are preventable it's important that Government policies protect future generations from cancer."