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Scientists claim they've found the cause mystery colon cancers in young people

Researchers at the University of Miami have discovered the phenomenon - dubbed accelerated ageing - may increase the risk of developing the disease.

And that may mean Gen Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 who are becoming young adults today – are at a far greater risk of developing potentially deadly diseases such as cancer at a much earlier stage than their parents or grandparents. Professor Ilaria Bellantuono, co-director of the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the University of Sheffield, told MailOnline: 'We don't know enough to say for certain that younger generations are ageing faster or why,' she says. Consultant oncologist Dr Hendrik-Tobias Arkenau, from HCA Healthcare in London, said the colon cancers in young people are most frequently only being spotted in their later, or sometimes tragically, final stages.

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