SYDNEY, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. and Australian researchers have found a direct link between obesity and colorectal cancer.

Researchers at the George Institute for International Health, in Sydney, reviewed more 70,000 patients in an analysis that included studies all across the globe.

The report, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, showed that obese individuals, or those with a body mass index of more than 30 have a 20 percent greater risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with those of normal weight or a BMI of less than 25. The report also found obese men are at 30 percent greater risk of developing the cancer compared with obese women.

Dr. Rachel Huxley and co-authors found that carrying even a few excess pounds can increases the risk of colorectal cancer; for every 11-pound weight gain the risk of developing the cancer increases by 7 percent.

"Although the mechanisms that explain the link between excess weight and cancer remain to be elucidated, substantial evidence supports an important role for diet and physical activity," Huxley said in a statement.