Overweight and obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking, but awareness of this link has historically been low among both the public and policymakers. In 2018, Cancer Research UK launched a nationwide campaign with the central message that obesity causes cancer.
This evaluation examined whether the campaign increased awareness of the link between obesity and cancer among the UK public and Members of Parliament (MPs). It also explored whether it had any unintended effects on attitudes towards people living with overweight or obesity. Finally, the study also assessed public reactions to the campaign and whether it influenced support for obesity-related policies or intentions to make lifestyle changes.
Around half of the public (47.5%) reported seeing at least one element of the campaign shortly after launch, and over three-quarters of MPs (76.2%) reported seeing campaign materials or related media coverage.
Awareness of obesity as a cancer risk factor increased following the campaign. Unprompted awareness among the public increased from 17% before the campaign to 43% immediately afterwards and remained above baseline levels two months later (30%).
Prompted awareness also increased. The proportion of the public agreeing that overweight or obesity can increase cancer risk rose from 67% before the campaign to 79% immediately afterwards and 74% two months later. Similar increases were observed among MPs.
Despite increases in awareness of the link between obesity and cancer, the study found little evidence of increased support for government or industry policies aimed at reducing obesity.
Among people who recalled seeing the campaign, around 30% reported thinking about changing their eating habits and around 20% reported thinking about increasing their physical activity. People living with overweight or obesity were more likely than those of a healthy weight to report thinking about changing their eating or physical activity behaviours after seeing the campaign.
Most respondents described the campaign positively, with more than three-quarters agreeing that it was informative, believable, communicated an important message and constituted responsible advertising.
The study found no consistent evidence of increased negative attitudes towards people living with overweight or obesity following the campaign. However, around 8% of respondents reported finding the campaign offensive.
This study found that a national awareness campaign was effective at raising awareness of the link between obesity and cancer among both the public and MPs. However further activity may be needed to maintain awareness and keep it top of mind. Levels of awareness remained lower than those seen for some other cancer risk factors, including smoking. This suggests there may be scope for further activity to increase understanding of the relationship between obesity and cancer.
The findings also suggest that raising awareness of obesity as a cancer risk factor can be achieved without evidence of a sustained increase in negative attitudes towards people living with overweight or obesity in the short term. However negative attitudes towards people with overweight or obesity were already present within the population, and a minority of respondents reported negative reactions to the campaign. Therefore, any communications need to be developed sensitively and carefully, and future evaluations should continue to monitor the impact on stigma should communications continue over the longer term.
Further research is needed to understand the longer-term impact of awareness campaigns and to identify approaches that effectively communicate cancer risk while minimising the potential for stigma.
Read the article on the Science Direct websiteJuliet A Usher-Smith, Veeraj P Shah, Shara Nahreen, Madi Fairey, Karis Betts, Charlotte Ide-Walters.
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