A study found those more than 1.83m (6ft) tall were almost twice as likely to develop the disease than those under 1.72m (5ft 8in).

Even men between 1.72m and 1.83m were at a 40 per cent higher risk, the team at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland discovered. The study of almost 1700 US servicemen under the age of 45 looked at the links between diet, body size and testicular cancer.

Cow’s milk has been seen by doctors as a possible cause of the disease, but the scientists found no evidence to link consumption of dairy products in early childhood with the disease.

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