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New campaign educates Victorians about obesity and cancer link

Thursday 18 October, 2018

Being above a heathy weight increases your risk of 13 types of cancer; however only 40% of Australians are aware of the link, compared to the 98% being aware of the link between increased weight and conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. With nearly two-thirds of the adult population above a healthy weight and the likelihood of cancers attributable to obesity to increase over time, it is an important health message at a critical time.  

The ‘13 Types of Cancer’ campaign will be on air on TV, radio, digital and outdoors from 23 October 2018 and aims to improve the Victorian population’s awareness of the link between being above a healthy weight and cancer and provide them with a simple action they can take to avoid weight gain and reduce their risk.

Sugary drinks contribute the most added sugar to Australians’ diets1, so Cancer Council Victoria is focusing on how these beverages can lead to unhealthy weight gain, which can increase the risk of certain cancers. The campaign will communicate that one way of reducing the risk is to cut sugary drinks from your diet.

A dedicated campaign website cancervic.org.au/healthyweight goes live on October 23. Here you find factsheets for health professionals and consumers and digital elements about how to make small lifestyle changes to improve people’s health. 


1. Louie, J., Rangan, A., Patterns of added sugars intake by eating occasion among a nationally representative sample of Australians, Springer Journal, 2016: Heidelberg.


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