World Cancer Research Fund UK
Encyclopedia
World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK) is a cancer prevention charity in the UK and is part of the World Cancer Research Fund
global network.
WCRF UK funds scientific research into how diet, physical activity and weight affect cancer risk and also funds education programmes to raise awareness of its message that people can reduce their cancer risk by eating a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. Its stated vision is to help people make choices that reduce their chances of developing cancer. Marilyn Gentry is Chief Executive of WCRF UK.
First Expert Report: In 1997, the WCRF global network published Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global perspective. This expert report
examined all the available evidence on the links between cancer and diet. According to WCRF International’s website, the report was a “catalyst for change” in stimulating research into diet and cancer.
Second Expert Report: In November 2007, the WCRF global network published Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective
. Also known as the Second Expert Report. WCRF claims the report is the most comprehensive about cancer prevention to date and in the initial sweep half a million research studies were found. These were screened down to 22,000. Eventually, 7,000 were deemed relevant and met the quality criteria for definitive conclusions to be drawn about cancer prevention. A panel of 21 experts then made 10 recommendations for reducing cancer risk.
The launch of the Second Expert Report report was a big news story in the UK and in September 2008 the launch won the award for Healthcare Campaign of the Year from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
. The report was described by the New Scientist
magazine as a “landmark in our understanding of diet and cancer” while The Economist
newspaper said: “It is the most rigorous study so far on the links between food, physical activity and cancer”.
There was also some negative reaction to the report, with The Sun
newspaper publishing a story with the headline “Save our Bacon” in response to the report’s advice to avoid eating processed meat and Michael Hanlon, writing in the Daily Mail
newspaper, advised people to “ignore these scaremongers”.
However, Project Director of the report Professor Martin Wiseman responded: “Our recommendations are based on the best science available. They are recommendations, not commandments. The whole point of them is to give people the information they need to make their everyday choices informed ones.” Cancer Research UK has responded that “it would be grossly irresponsible of charities like Cancer Research UK and the WCRF to not talk about things that we know make people more likely to get cancer.”
Policy Report: In February 2009, the WCRF global network published Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, a companion document to the Second Expert Report. It included 48 recommendations for changes that different groups in society can make to help prevent cancer. It also included a preventability study that estimated that a third of the most common cancers in the UK could be prevented through diet, physical activity and weight management.
Cancer Prevention Week: Cancer Prevention week is held by WCRF UK every year in May. In 2009, it was held from 11 to 15 May. Every year during Cancer Prevention Week, WCRF UK holds Fruity Friday and a Beat the Banana! 5k fun run. It also uses Cancer Prevention Week to highlight the fact that many cases of cancer could be prevented through a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. In 2009, it secured media coverage for its message that 19,000 cases of cancer in the UK every year are linked to weight.
WCRF International manages and administers the research programme on behalf of WCRF UK. UK researchers can apply for Investigator Initiated grants for a maximum of £150,000 for up to four years or for Seed grants for a maximum of £40,000 for one year.
WCRF UK also works with Imperial College London
on its Continuous Review project. This is a process designed to keep the evidence on diet and cancer current, and is an extension of the Second Expert Report project. Its aim is to enable the recommendations for cancer prevention from the Second Expert Report to be updated and revised when necessary as new evidence emerges.
Publications: WCRF UK produces publications that aim to translate scientific research into language that is easy to understand, providing information about the links between lifestyle and cancer
and advice on how to make healthy changes.
Newsletter: WCRF UK publishes a newsletter for supporters four times a year that includes information about scientific findings and gives practical advice about making healthy lifestyle changes.
Health professionals: WCRF UK provides information for health professionals to help them educate their patients. This includes publishing Informed, a newsletter aimed at health professionals. There is also a health professionals section on the WCRF UK website.
Every year in May, WCRF UK holds Fruity Friday, which is a fundraising and education campaign. As part of this, companies and schools hold “dress down Fridays” and put on fundraising events and competitions such as fruity breakfasts and guessing the number of fruits in a jar.
Fruity Friday is held during Cancer Prevention Week, during which WCRF UK also holds its annual Beat the Banana! 5k fun run in Hyde Park
, London.
World Cancer Research Fund
World Cancer Research Fund International is a not-for-profit association, established by royal decree in Belgium, with headquarters in London, UK...
global network.
WCRF UK funds scientific research into how diet, physical activity and weight affect cancer risk and also funds education programmes to raise awareness of its message that people can reduce their cancer risk by eating a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. Its stated vision is to help people make choices that reduce their chances of developing cancer. Marilyn Gentry is Chief Executive of WCRF UK.
History
WCRF UK was established in 1990. According to its website, it was the first cancer charity in the UK to create awareness of the relationship between diet and cancer risk, to focus funding on research into diet and cancer prevention and to consolidate and interpret global research to create practical messages on reducing risk of cancer.First Expert Report: In 1997, the WCRF global network published Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global perspective. This expert report
Expert report
An expert report is a study written by one or more experts that states findings and offers opinions.In law, expert reports are generated by expert witnesses offering their opinions on points of controversy in a legal case, and are typically sponsored by one side or the other in a litigation in...
examined all the available evidence on the links between cancer and diet. According to WCRF International’s website, the report was a “catalyst for change” in stimulating research into diet and cancer.
Second Expert Report: In November 2007, the WCRF global network published Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective
Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective
Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, also known as the Expert Report, was an expert report published by the World Cancer Research Fund global network in 2007....
. Also known as the Second Expert Report. WCRF claims the report is the most comprehensive about cancer prevention to date and in the initial sweep half a million research studies were found. These were screened down to 22,000. Eventually, 7,000 were deemed relevant and met the quality criteria for definitive conclusions to be drawn about cancer prevention. A panel of 21 experts then made 10 recommendations for reducing cancer risk.
The launch of the Second Expert Report report was a big news story in the UK and in September 2008 the launch won the award for Healthcare Campaign of the Year from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Chartered Institute of Public Relations
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for PR practitioners in the United Kingdom. Founded in February 1948 as the Institute of Public Relations, by 2009 it had grown to over 9000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations industry, and is the largest...
. The report was described by the New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
magazine as a “landmark in our understanding of diet and cancer” while The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
newspaper said: “It is the most rigorous study so far on the links between food, physical activity and cancer”.
There was also some negative reaction to the report, with The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper publishing a story with the headline “Save our Bacon” in response to the report’s advice to avoid eating processed meat and Michael Hanlon, writing in the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
newspaper, advised people to “ignore these scaremongers”.
However, Project Director of the report Professor Martin Wiseman responded: “Our recommendations are based on the best science available. They are recommendations, not commandments. The whole point of them is to give people the information they need to make their everyday choices informed ones.” Cancer Research UK has responded that “it would be grossly irresponsible of charities like Cancer Research UK and the WCRF to not talk about things that we know make people more likely to get cancer.”
Policy Report: In February 2009, the WCRF global network published Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, a companion document to the Second Expert Report. It included 48 recommendations for changes that different groups in society can make to help prevent cancer. It also included a preventability study that estimated that a third of the most common cancers in the UK could be prevented through diet, physical activity and weight management.
Cancer Prevention Week: Cancer Prevention week is held by WCRF UK every year in May. In 2009, it was held from 11 to 15 May. Every year during Cancer Prevention Week, WCRF UK holds Fruity Friday and a Beat the Banana! 5k fun run. It also uses Cancer Prevention Week to highlight the fact that many cases of cancer could be prevented through a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. In 2009, it secured media coverage for its message that 19,000 cases of cancer in the UK every year are linked to weight.
Research
WCRF UK spends about £2 million per year on scientific research into the links between cancer and diet, physical activity and body fat. This includes about £1 million per year on its grants programme, which funds researchers at universities and research institutions in the UK and overseas.WCRF International manages and administers the research programme on behalf of WCRF UK. UK researchers can apply for Investigator Initiated grants for a maximum of £150,000 for up to four years or for Seed grants for a maximum of £40,000 for one year.
WCRF UK also works with Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
on its Continuous Review project. This is a process designed to keep the evidence on diet and cancer current, and is an extension of the Second Expert Report project. Its aim is to enable the recommendations for cancer prevention from the Second Expert Report to be updated and revised when necessary as new evidence emerges.
Education
WCRF UK’s Great Grub Club website and magazine are aimed at four to seven-year-olds. According to its website, its aim is to encourage healthy eating and an active lifestyle in a fun and informative way. Because of the age range the club is aimed at, it does not mention the links between lifestyle and cancer.Publications: WCRF UK produces publications that aim to translate scientific research into language that is easy to understand, providing information about the links between lifestyle and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and advice on how to make healthy changes.
Newsletter: WCRF UK publishes a newsletter for supporters four times a year that includes information about scientific findings and gives practical advice about making healthy lifestyle changes.
Health professionals: WCRF UK provides information for health professionals to help them educate their patients. This includes publishing Informed, a newsletter aimed at health professionals. There is also a health professionals section on the WCRF UK website.
Fundraising
Most of WCRF UK’s income is from the general public. It raises money in a range of ways from single donations, regular donations, running events and gifts left in wills.Every year in May, WCRF UK holds Fruity Friday, which is a fundraising and education campaign. As part of this, companies and schools hold “dress down Fridays” and put on fundraising events and competitions such as fruity breakfasts and guessing the number of fruits in a jar.
Fruity Friday is held during Cancer Prevention Week, during which WCRF UK also holds its annual Beat the Banana! 5k fun run in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, London.
See also
- World Cancer Research FundWorld Cancer Research FundWorld Cancer Research Fund International is a not-for-profit association, established by royal decree in Belgium, with headquarters in London, UK...
- Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global PerspectiveFood, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global PerspectiveFood, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, also known as the Expert Report, was an expert report published by the World Cancer Research Fund global network in 2007....
- American Institute for Cancer ResearchAmerican Institute for Cancer ResearchThe American Institute for Cancer Research is a large American cancer research organization associated with the World Cancer Research Fund umbrella organization.Its stated mission is:...