More young people are getting colorectal cancer. Take this quiz to check your risk level.

• 1 in 5 new cases of bowel cancer are being diagnosed in people in their early 50s or younger.
• Weight, diet, and smoking can put a person at higher risk of getting colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer — also known as bowel cancer — is being diagnosed more frequently in younger people, according to the American Cancer Society.

An ACS report published in March showed that one in five new cases of bowel cancer — referring to both colon and rectal cancer — are being diagnosed in people in their early 50s or younger, with around 1,600 additional new cases since its 2020 report.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the US, according to the ACS, and is the type of cancer that "Black Panther" actor Chadwick Boseman died of aged 43 in 2020.

Fight Colorectal Cancer — an organization that researches the condition — has made a quiz to help people check their risk of developing the disease.

Dr. Fola May, assistant professor of medicine at UCLA and a Fight CRC board member, told Insider that anyone can take the quiz, which empowers people to learn more about what can increase their colorectal cancer risk, such as family history, whether they have conditions such inflammatory bowel disease, or other cancer diagnoses that warrant early screening.

Other factors that increase the risk include weight, diet, and smoking, the ACS said.

If the quiz says a person is "low risk," assuming they also have no symptoms of the disease, they do not need to be screened until they turn 45, May said. But if a person's mother, father, brother, or sister has had colorectal cancer, they should start screening by age 40.

Pencil-shaped stools can be a colorectal cancer symptom

Early symptoms of colorectal cancer can include blood in stools, new constipation or diarrhea that does not go away, and pencil-shaped stools, according to Dr. May.

Later signs and symptoms of the disease include iron deficiency, weight loss, and fatigue. People with these symptoms should have a diagnostic colonoscopy to check for colorectal cancer, May said.

The ACS said other symptoms can include: stomach cramps, weakness, and the feeling of needing to poop that isn't relieved after going to the toilet.