New ad campaign warns obesity is linked to increased risk of 13 different cancers

VICTORIANS are being urged to ditch soft drinks to help shed weight, with a new campaign warning just how dangerous being overweight is.

Fiona Humphreys used to drink two soft drinks a day. Picture: David Caird

VICTORIANS now have ­another good reason to lose weight — obesity is linked to an increased risk of 13 different cancers.

A new advertisement campaign, being launched today by Cancer Council Victoria, will deliver the hard-hitting message that our weight sits alongside smoking and sun damage as the top modifiable cancer risk factors.

About 3900 Australians are diagnosed each year with cancers that are linked to being overweight.

Surveys by the Cancer Council have found while ­almost all Australians know obesity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, just 40 per cent are aware of its link to cancer.

Melbourne surgeon Ahmad Aly, who specialises in weight-loss surgery and gastric cancers, features in the ad campaign to call for a greater awareness about the toxic ­effects of fat.

“Obesity is a disease. Fat interacts with body systems and it’s like an organ, it’s an active participant in body systems,” Mr Ahmad said yesterday.

“Central weight, abdominal fat in particular, is dangerous in that it confers to the highest risk.”

Fiona Humphreys has ditched sugary drinks and has lost 7kg. Picture: David Caird

Cancer Council Victoria chief Todd Harper said given excessive sugar consumption from soft drinks contributed the most added sugar to Australian diets, ­Victorians were urged to ditch soft drinks to help shed the weight and reduce their cancer risk.

“While talking about weight is a sensitive issue, we can’t shy away from the risk being above a healthy weight poses to our health,” Mr Harper said.

“This campaign helps people to first understand the risk, and then we’ve identified ways people can reduce added sugar from their diet.”

Fiona Humphreys, 50, used to drink two soft drinks a day — the equivalent of 100 teaspoons of sugar a week and 26kg a year — to help her through a busy work day as a pick-me-up.

She gave herself a month to quit, swapping Coke for homemade unsweetened ice coffees and soda water, and has kept up the habit to lose 7kg.

Ms Humphreys has kept off the weight for the past seven years.

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“This has been something I have been able to maintain because it was something simple,” Ms Humphreys said.

“I look at food labels a lot more, because it’s made me aware of how much hidden sugar is in everything we purchase now. I feel a lot better. I don’t have the highs and lows in the day as much as I did.”

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