A cancer scientist is warning that people across the UK are living with an increased risk of cancer because they are not facing up to the fact that they are overweight.
Dr Greg Martin, Science and Research Manager for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), is urging people to calculate their Body Mass Index (BMI). This is because of concerns that millions of people in the UK think they are a comparatively healthy weight when their weight might actually be putting them at increased risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.
There are also fears that the unprecedented numbers of obese people in the UK make it easy for people who are overweight to think they are a healthy weight.
This is why WCRF is encouraging people to check their BMI. This will tell them whether they are overweight and by how much.
Dr Martin said: If you are overweight then you are at increased risk of developing cancer, but it seems that too many people simply cannot face up to the fact that they need to lose weight.
A lot of people compare themselves to their friends and colleagues, but with the number of overweight people in the UK rising rapidly, this can lead to people thinking their own weight is fine when in fact it might not be.
This is why it is so important that people check their BMI, rather than relying on looking in the mirror, because it is easy to kid ourselves that everything is OK when its not. But if you are overweight, then checking your BMI and facing a perhaps uncomfortable truth can be the first step to making changes to your lifestyle that could literally mean the difference between life and death.
As part of their awareness campaign, WCRF is offering free BMI calculators to the first 1,000 people who call 020 7343 4205.
Aaron Howlett, of Hull, has given his support to WCRFs campaign. At his heaviest Aaron was 25 stone and had a BMI of 45, which meant he was obese. Yet despite his weight gain, he still did not see himself as someone with a problem and it was only when he could no longer play with his niece without becoming out of breath that he realised he needed to take action to lose weight.
But now Aaron has turned his life around by losing 10 stone and getting his BMI down into the healthy range. He now works as a personal trainer.
He said: I know from personal experience that weight gain is something that can creep up on you without you realising it, and it is amazing how the mind can play tricks on you. I was 25 stone at my heaviest, but when I looked in the mirror I would always see a thin person staring back at me.
I know all too well what its like to kid yourself about how overweight you are, because I have been there myself and this is why Im encouraging people to get their BMI checked.
It is a horrible feeling to find out you are overweight, but it is only once you realise you have a problem that you can start to make the changes to your lifestyle that can make a big difference in the long run.
Ends
For more information and to arrange interviews with Dr Martin or with Aaron Howlett, call Richard Evans on 020 7343 4253.
Notes to editors
- BMI may not be an accurate indicator for some groups of people, including body builders, athletes, older people, pregnant women, children, and those under five feet tall.
About WCRF
World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is the principal UK charity dedicated to the prevention of cancer. Our mission is to raise awareness that the risk of cancer is reduced by healthy food and nutrition, physical activity and weight management, and to develop and strengthen scientific knowledge of the relation of these factors to cancer prevention.
The evidence for this was provided by our first expert report Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective, published in 1997. This was a review of the thousands of leading international research studies that relate to food, nutrition and cancer prevention and produced a clear set of guidelines for members of the public to follow. A second report, the WCRF/AICR* Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective, will be published in November and will be the most authoritative of its kind.
Few people realise that 30 to 40 per cent of cancers, including many cases of bowel, breast and stomach cancer could be prevented if only we thought more about the food that we eat and included a little more exercise into our daily routines.
WCRF is part of the WCRF global network and is a member of WCRF International which has affiliates in the United States (*American Institute for Cancer Research) the Netherlands, Hong Kong and France.
Registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales (Registered Charity number 1000739).
Tagged in Health