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Battling Obesity is Now Fat Shaming

It is just so much fun when we can see different parts of the left – or perhaps the prodnoses – eating each other. The latest coming over a series of ads from Cancer Research. Being fat, wobbly, over-stuffed, is the second leading cause of cancer in the UK after smoking. This is simply factual – well, we assume it is. But apparently we’re not, they’re not, allowed to say this because fat shaming.

Yup, land whales are complaining because being told that they’ve upped their cancer risk by gorging is, umm, well, it’s, what is it? Unfair? Impolite? Potentially illegal?

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.

We have no idea who Ms. Hagen is. But perhaps we have a clue in the fact that she came here rather than moving to the Faroes. Too much risk of being stripped for her blubber there?

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BraveFart
BraveFart
6 years ago

Of course we already have experience of female Danish comedians being utterly unfunny, fvgly and big-boned. Just look at Sandy Soksvig

Bloke in North Dorset
Bloke in North Dorset
6 years ago

CRUK’s campaign would be fine if obesity hadn’t become defined as anyone not looking like they’re suffering early stage anorexia.

Tim Newman
6 years ago

There seems to be a lot of people piling on on Sofia Hagen. What few people are asking is whether it’s a good thing that a cancer charity is now involved in lobbying government over what we should and shouldn’t eat, or whether “obesity causes cancer” should really be “obesity is correlated with cancer”.

So Much For Subtlety
So Much For Subtlety
6 years ago

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?”

In this country for just six years. How her English must have improved.

We need more fat shaming. Not less. A little bit of fat Danish lesbian shaming wouldn’t be amiss either.

Bernie G.
Bernie G.
6 years ago

First they came for the smokers. Then the drinkers. Then the fatties. The latest pronouncement from she who must be obeyed (Dame Sally Davies – one glass of Chardonnay and your tits will fall off), is that noise and light pollution are injurious to public health. My Motörhead CDs to carry a health warning?

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago

‘Angry campaigners have called for the campaign’

Campaigners vs campaigners. I love it!

Dennis the Peasant
Dennis the Peasant
6 years ago

Who gave you permission to use my photo?

Ian Reid
Ian Reid
6 years ago

CRUK can go do one. I’m not donating to those morons anymore, they’ve crossed the line from research into advocacy. Going to cause a few issues with my friends, but so be it.

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago
Reply to  Ian Reid

I am the perfect donor class for the American Cancer Society. I lost my first wife, the Good One, to cancer. The American Cancer Society gave me useful support. I am affluent enough to give them money. About 20 years ago, I got a thank you letter after a large contribution. They said my donation would be used to lobby the government. Now that’s a fine how-do-you-do. I can lobby myself; I don’t need you for it. If you are going to get the government to do something, then you serve no purpose whatsoever. I haven’t given them a penny… Read more »

Pcar
Pcar
6 years ago
Reply to  Gamecock

Good move.

Did you tell them why you would not donate again?

What was their reply?

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago
Reply to  Pcar

I don’t remember. 20 years ago.

I probably didn’t. Any ‘charity’ that would use donations to lobby the government isn’t going to be fixed by a comment. Their lack of self awareness was stupefying.

rjb
rjb
6 years ago

If you’re looking for a trustworthy cancer charity you could do a lot worse than Bloodwise. A friend of mine was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Bloodwise were the ones that actually helped him with support, practical advice and useful leaflets. He’s now heavily involved with their fundraising.

Ljh
Ljh
6 years ago

The correlation between obesity and cancer is best explained by both being a result of longterm high levels of insulin. As the medical fraternity is still mightily infested by Ancel Keys fans pushing the food pyramid, they are rather quiet on this and prefer to blame obesity per se. I recommend the writing of Jason Fung who has compiled recent research on his blog idm.com

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago
Reply to  Ljh

Conspiracy much?

john 77
john 77
6 years ago

Obesity is more serrious as a cause of heart disease than of cancer, so they’re both wrong.
But BiND has made the best point – different people are *naturally* different shapes and the disgracefully stupid (and dimensionally unsound) BMI should be banned from any rational discussion. [When I was young and relatively fit I *did* look as if I was suffering from early stage anorexia and the fittest guy I knew carried less fat than I but was an inch-and-a-bit shorter and weighed just over one-third more]

James in NZ
James in NZ
6 years ago
Reply to  john 77

BMI is a useful measure for populations; but is not accurate enough to be used for individuals. Anybody trying to use it at an individual level is a charleton and, if they are a medical professional, you should look at going elsewhere.

Ljh
Ljh
6 years ago

Gamecock, science progresses one funeral at a time. See Wegener’s theory of continenal drift, stomach ulcers and helicobacter. There are plenty of examples across all evidence based disciplines where the Old Guard have tried to obstruct heresies.

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago
Reply to  Ljh

They do not give credence to your silliness.

John B
John B
6 years ago

But obese people die early of heart attacks and complications from diabetes, so we are told, before they have time to develop and secumb to cancer. And it is a ‘known fact’ that fatties are mostly slobs with a poor diet who smoke and drink too much and don’t exercise, so with several confounding factors how can the ‘research’ tell that is was the fat wot did it and not the booze, fat and idleness or combinations thereof. Oh I get it… they die first from the fags, then they died a second time from obesity. And then there is… Read more »

Bongo
Bongo
6 years ago

“Being fat, wobbly, over-stuffed, is the second leading cause of cancer in the UK after smoking” Fact check. This is FALSE. But well done to CR-UK for getting a great many people to think it is. Whoever is doing their PR is good or the people that lap it up are gullible. Fatness is in 3rd place – after non-preventable causes, and then smoking. What’s more there is a HUGE gap between non-preventables and smoking and again between smoking and fatness, with fatness being just ahead of exercise ( or lack of ) bad diet and sunshine. I know this… Read more »

NiV
NiV
6 years ago

“It is just so much fun when we can see different parts of the left – or perhaps the prodnoses – eating each other.” Prodnoses, yes. All authoritarians fight one another for the right to tell society what they’re allowed to do. “Being fat, wobbly, over-stuffed, is the second leading cause of cancer in the UK after smoking. This is simply factual – well, we assume it is.” People naturally get heavier as they get older. People get cancer more often when they get older. One would therefore expect cancer to be correlated with weight, obviously. So if you fit… Read more »

Bongo
Bongo
6 years ago
Reply to  NiV

Good spot NiV and one I hadn’t noticed. The absolute numbers at risk from not breastfeeding are just under 1/7th for those of fatness. Given that half the population can never breast feed, and let’s say for the other half your breast feeding years make up 1/10th of your life then not breastfeeding when you can is about 3* riskier than fatness ( round numbers of course ).

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago

‘People naturally get heavier as they get older.’

Link?

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago
Reply to  NiV

Chart shows a drop off in weight with age.

NiV
NiV
6 years ago
Reply to  Gamecock

It shows a rise to age 55, and then a drop-off. Median weight of the under-30s is below that of the range 30-75.

But you’re right. I simplified. Trying to keep it ‘pithy’, you know? 🙂

Bloke on M4
Bloke on M4
6 years ago

The sad part is that her genes ain’t that bad. Lose the weight, it goes from the face too, and you’re more shaggable. I think people like this have real problems, and I’m somewhat sympathetic towards them in that regard. It’s the likes of the BBC indulging them that I object to. The idea that this perspective is normal. And I’m not saying that girls teasing fat girls is OK, and I’m not saying that you can’t be fat if that’s what you choose to be. It’s this idea that being fat is healthy and/or outside of your control. Most… Read more »

Gamecock
Gamecock
6 years ago
Reply to  Bloke on M4

Which raises the question: How many obese women have chosen to be obese as a deterrent to rape?

Obesity is a choice. There is more than one reason for the choice.

NiV
NiV
6 years ago

“It’s this idea that being fat is healthy” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19543208 “Most people who are fat are so because they eat too much sugar and don’t exercise enough.” There is a weak correlation between BMI and Calorie intake, but it only explains about 17% of the variance. It’s not the major cause. This makes sense because the actual relationship is that the change in weight is proportional to the difference between Calories in and Calories out. Virtually everyone eats almost exactly the same number of Calories they burn, within 1%. (Just calculate what 1% of the Calories you eat in 20 years… Read more »

Ltw
Ltw
6 years ago

What Bernie G said. Where the hell was she when I was being told where I could and couldn’t smoke or drink? Or getting taxed to hell and gone? She probably wasn’t on my side then. Why should I defend her?

Southerner
6 years ago

There was this fat chick wearing Guess jeans so I said “Thyroid problems?”

dearieme
dearieme
6 years ago

People with Class I obesity slightly outlive people with “normal” BMI. The “overweight” more substantially outlive the “normal”. So if obesity is killing everyone from heart disease and cancer what is it saving them from? Death by ingrowing toe nails? Or is this fuss mostly just another of those modern quasi-religions, the priests of which get their fun by denying other people theirs? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2009.191/full While we are at it, try to draw meaning from this bollocks. A doctor speaks: ‘The study focusses on the issue of the obesity paradox, whereby in a whole range of different populations obesity is associated… Read more »

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