Objective To estimate obesity prevalence among healthcare professionals in England and compare prevalence with those working outside of the health services. Design Cross-sectional study based on data from 5 years (2008–2012) of the nationally representative Health Survey for England. Setting England. Participants 20 103 adults aged 17–65 years indicating they were economically active at the time of survey classified into four occupational groups: nurses (n=422), other healthcare professionals (n=412), unregistered care workers (n=736) and individuals employed in non-health-related occupations (n=18 533). Outcome measure Prevalence of obesity defined as body mass index ≥30.0 with 95% CIs and weighted to reflect the population. Results Obesity prevalence was high across all occupational groups including: among nurses (25.1%, 95% CI 20.9% to 29.4%); other healthcare professionals (14.4%, 95% CI 11.0% to 17.8%); non-health-related occupations (23.5%, 95% CI 22.9% to 24.1%); and unregistered care workers who had the highest prevalence of obesity (31.9%, 95% CI 28.4% to 35.3%). A logistic regression model adjusted for sociodemographic composition and survey year indicated that, compared with nurses, the odds of being obese were significantly lower for other healthcare professionals (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.52, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.75) and higher for unregistered care workers (aOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.93). There was no significant difference in obesity prevalence between nurses and people working in non-health-related occupations (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.18). Conclusions High obesity prevalence among nurses and unregistered care workers is concerning as it increases the risks of musculoskeletal conditions and mental health conditions that are the main causes of sickness absence in health services. Further research is required to better understand the reasons for high obesity prevalence among healthcare professionals in England to inform interventions to support individuals to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Increasing adolescents’ awareness of the contribution of modifiable lifestyle factors to cancer risk may influence life-long patterns of healthy behaviour. However, little is known about adolescents’ awareness of cancer risk factors and the effectiveness of awareness-raising interventions. This study assessed adolescents’ cancer awareness and the effectiveness of an existing cancer-specific school-based intervention delivered by Teenage Cancer Trust. The Cancer Awareness Measure was completed by 478 adolescents (male: 250, 52.3%) aged 11–17 years (mean: 13.8, standard deviation: 1.24) in four UK schools; 422 adolescents provided paired data 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the intervention delivered in 3 schools, and twice 4 weeks apart in the fourth (control) school. Adolescents recognized on average 4.4 (of 11) cancer risk factors. With the exception of smoking, adolescents’ awareness of cancer risk factors was low. Awareness significantly increased after the intervention (4.6–5.7, P < 0.001). There was no significant change in the control school. Intervention effect was greater among females. This educational intervention is an effective way to raise adolescents’ awareness of cancer risk factors. However, further cross-sectional and experimental studies are required to definitively assess adolescents’ awareness of cancer risk factors and the effectiveness of this educational intervention.

There is a paucity of methodologically robust vocational rehabilitation (VR) intervention trials. This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a VR trial of women with breast cancer to inform the development of a larger interventional study.

There is a lack of evidence around the effectiveness of school-based interventions designed to raise adolescents’ cancer awareness. To address this deficit this study assessed the impact of an intervention delivered in the United Kingdom by Teenage Cancer Trust on: recall (open question) and recognition (closed question) of cancer warning signs; knowledge of common childhood, teenage, male and female cancers; awareness of the relationship between cancer and age; anticipated medical help-seeking delay; perceived barriers to seeking medical advice about cancer; and examined variation of intervention effect by gender and whether adolescents reported that they knew someone with cancer.

Little is known about adolescents’ cancer awareness and help-seeking behaviour in Britain. This study assessed adolescents’: awareness of cancer symptoms, common cancers, and the relationship between cancer and age; anticipated delay and perceived barriers to seeking medical advice; and examined variation by age, gender, ethnicity and whether individuals knew someone with cancer.