An award-winning comedian has accused Cancer Research of "fat-shaming" after they launched a campaign against obesity.

Sofie Hagen, a Danish-born comedian who has lived in the UK since 2012 and appeared on the BBC multiple times, tweeted a picture of the poster, which spells out "OBESITY" with some missing letters, and asks readers to guess what the biggest cause of cancer is, after smoking.

Another advertisement in the campaign features chips presented in a cigarette packet.

She wrote: "Right, is anyone currently working on getting this piece of s--- CancerResearchUK advert removed from everywhere? Is there something I can sign? How the f---ing f--- is this okay?"

Angry campaigners have called for the campaign to be pulled, and some have said they will stop donating to Cancer Research because of the "fat-shaming" campaign.

The charity defended itself, telling The Telegraph the campaign is based on science and is not meant to "shame" anyone.

Professor Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK’s prevention expert, said: “The aim of the charity’s campaign is to raise awareness of the fact that obesity is the biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. This is not about fat shaming. It is based on scientific evidence and designed to give important information to the public. Only 15% of people are aware that obesity is a cause of cancer. Cancer Research UK has a duty to put that message in the public domain.

The campaign, which offended the comedian

“In addition to raising awareness, the campaign aims to help stem the rising tide of obesity by urging the government to create a climate that makes healthier food choices easier for everyone.”

Hagen, 29, who has appeared on BBC Radio 1, Radio 4 and on Live At The BBC, refuted this explanation and said that dieting is in fact harmful.

She tweeted: "BMI has been debunked DECADES ago. It's not a valid way of measuring anything. On the contrary, DIETING has been proved TIME AND TIME again to be one of the worst thing you can do to your body. Your campaign is so damaging and fatshaming and I really hope it gets taken down."

One of her supporters also posted: "I have to pass it three times on my journey to and from work and one of them is a house-sized billboard. I'm stopping ANY support of @CRUK_Policy until they quit shaming me."

A tweet featuring the campaign

Another tweeted: "I KEEP SEEING THIS and was going to say something today. How the f--- do we get rid of it?"

However, the campaign also has supporters.

A Twitter user responded: "I got taught this in primary school, if you smoke/become obese your chances of getting cancer increase. In no way is it offensive - you may feel personally attacked but the point in this advert is to raise awareness."

Another said: "It’s OK because it’s based on scientific data. You’re offended because you’ve interpreted it emotionally. @CR_UK is trying to raise awareness as a preventative measure. Don’t knock them - they do amazing work."