Cancer Prevention Blog

A new government TV campaign aims to encourage people to reduce their alcohol consumption.

Evidence shows that many millions of people in the UK drink more than the recommended limits on a regular basis, and many are unaware of the increased health risks. So this is a welcome initiative.

The advert, part of the Government’s healthy lifestyle initiative Change4Life, highlights the health risks associated with drinking too much alcohol, including increasing the risk of cancer. Its message is that … Continue Reading

A safe cycling policy has a positive affect on reducing cancer risk

The Times is running a campaign calling for cities to be made safe for cyclists. This is a campaign WCRF wholeheartedly supports because it will promote cycling as a form of transport and physical activity.

Our 2009 Policy Report – which sets out changes that can be made at all levels of society to reduce the number of cancer cases – notes that the built environment profoundly affects lifestyles, most obviously in terms of physical activity.

Levels … Continue Reading

Health professionals could provide lifestyle advice

The government recently received a report calling for GPs, nurses and other health professionals to do more to help people make lifestyle changes such as being more physically active or eating a healthier diet.

In line with WCRF’s Policy Report recommendations, NHS Future Forum calls for the promotion of healthy living to be a core part of the day-to-day business of NHS staff in a policy dubbed ‘make every contact count’.

Millions of people come into contact with health professionals … Continue Reading

WCRF UK attended the BACC in Westminster

Last week I attended the Britain Against Cancer Conference in London. For WCRF UK this was a really important event and was a key opportunity to highlight the role of food, nutrition and physical activity in cancer prevention.

Macmillan Cancer Support organised this conference on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer, with the support of MPs and Members of the House of Lords. It was hugely successful in getting all the key cancer organisations, health professionals … Continue Reading

The Health Select Committee yesterday published a report that has questioned whether the Government’s Responsibility Deal is likely to lead to meaningful change.

We agree with the Committee’s view of the Responsibility Deal, which involves working with industry to help improve health, when it says that it is “unconvinced that the new Responsibility Deal will be effective in resolving issues such as obesity and alcohol abuse”.

We also agree that while partnerships with commercial organisations have a place in health, these organisations should not set the agenda.

Instead, these partnerships should be about how policy is enacted, rather than deciding what … Continue Reading

Obesity: how can we reduce it?

The new Government obesity “call to action” makes a lot of the right noises.

It correctly identifies the obesity crisis as “probably the most widespread threat to health and wellbeing in this country”.

But any hope we had that it was going to set out a positive plan for tackling the problem ended when we got to the part where it explains how the Government favours “interventions towards the less intrusive end … Continue Reading

Should high calorie foods like burgers be taxed to encourage healthy eating??

Andy Burnham is the new Shadow Secretary of State for Health and those looking for an insight into his views on public health may be interested by his appearance on the BBC’s Question Time (from 37 minutes and 30 seconds in) last week.

He came out against the idea of the kind of “fat tax” that has been announced in Denmark recently, arguing it would hit the poorest … Continue Reading

UN Summit on NCDs: important for global health

The United Nations (UN) Summit – or to give it its official title the UN High Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – is over.

A cabbie taking me to one of the side events at the meeting a couple of days ago, told me New Yorkers call this week “hell week”. Stuck in traffic and surrounded by shrieking sirens, blaring klaxons, flashing lights, honking horns, police, federal agents and … Continue Reading

Food choices: affected by policy

We held a press conference two weeks ago at which we described the United Nations Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”.

Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, used similar terms about the challenge of NCDs when he spoke at the Summit itself this week.

After comparing the challenge of NCDs, which include cancer, heart disease, diabetes and respiratory disease, … Continue Reading

WCRF’s press conference on the forthcoming UN Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases resulted in widespread coverage around the world. Reports of the event appeared in newspapers and on TV in at least 32 countries, from Chile to Norway, Japan to the Dominican Republic.

Calling on world leaders, including David Cameron, to attend the summit, the conference also heard how 2.8million cancer cases could be prevented every year and that there has been a 20 per cent rise in the number of global cancer cases in the past decade.

Our staff were interviewed by the BBC for Radio 4′s Today show, the World … Continue Reading