Evaluation of the reach and impact of a UK campaign highlighting obesity as a cause of cancer among the general public and Members of Parliament

Abstract

Objectives‘Overweight and obesity’ is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. In 2018, Cancer Research UK launched an awareness raising campaign about the link between overweight and obesity and cancer risk. This study aimed to evaluate the reach and impact of the campaign. Study designThis study was a repeated cross-sectional online survey. MethodsThe campaign consisted of six elements including the main message that ‘Obesity is a cause of cancer’. UK adults and Members of Parliament (MPs) were surveyed before the campaign (W1; n = 2124 and n = 151), 1 month (W2; n = 2050 and n = 151) and 3 months after the campaign (W3; n = 2059 and MPs not surveyed). Outcome measures were campaign reach, awareness of overweight and obesity as risk factors for cancer, attitudes towards individuals who are overweight or obese, support for policies to reduce obesity and reactions to the campaign. ResultsOverall, 76.2% of MPs and just under half of the public (47.5% in W2 and 36.8% in W3) reported having seen the campaign. Unprompted awareness of obesity as a risk factor increased among the public from 17.1% at W1 to 43.3% in W2 (odds ratio 3.71, 95% confidence interval 3.18–4.33) and 30.3% in W3 (odds ratio 2.11, 95% confidence interval 1.80–2.47). A similar pattern was seen for prompted awareness and among MPs. There were no consistent changes in attitudes towards overweight individuals or support for policies to reduce obesity. ConclusionsThis evaluation suggests that the campaign achieved the primary objective of increasing awareness of the link between obesity and cancer without increasing negative attitudes towards individuals who are overweight or obese.