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Fat, cancer, and the 1 in 20 lie

The Fat Doctor Podcast

The Fat Doctor Podcast
Fat, cancer, and the 1 in 20 lie
Mar 18, 2026 Season 6 Episode 10
Dr Asher Larmie

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 Cancer Research UK calls being fat the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK. It's a claim built on manipulated statistics, false assumptions, and funding from the weight loss industry - and it's actively killing people. In this episode, I show why the evidence for weight and cancer doesn't come close to the evidence for smoking, why population attributable fractions are a chocolate teapot, and why the breast cancer data is far more complicated than anyone is letting on. If you've ever been told your cancer risk is your own fault, this one's for you. 

The study on weight stigma as a barrier to cancer screening: Amy NK, Aalborg A, Lyons P, Keranen L. Barriers to routine gynecological cancer screening for White and African-American obese women. Int J Obes. 2006;30(1):147-155. 

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