A Matter of Fat

A Matter of Fat

The show for anyone who's got no idea what they think about weight in 2026

Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy have changed the conversation around weight and bodies faster than any of us has managed to think it all through. The weight-loss drugs, the diets, the shame, the money and the judgement have left most of us with no idea what we think anymore. Is thinner really better? Or healthier? What is the social and emotional cost of a life spent pursuing it? And can't we all just be kinder to each other?

Each week, journalist Rose Stokes and Professor Giles Yeo MBE, one of the world's leading obesity scientists based at Cambridge University, take on a different part of the conversation nobody can quite get straight. One of them brings the science, the other brings thirty years of lived experience. Neither pretends to have it figured out — and they don't always agree.

Honest conversations about GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and what they actually do to your body, food noise, why diets fail, semaglutide and the science behind it, what Ozempic is doing to body positivity, ultra-processed food, weight stigma, and who can afford to escape judgement and who can't.

Plus two regular segments: Fat Check, testing the science of the internet's wildest weight-loss myths, and Diets I've Survived, rating diets so you don't have to.

New episodes every Tuesday. Follow now so you don't miss one.

Got a question, a thought, or a story of your own? Email us at amatteroffatpod@gmail.com


Artwork: sisterstudiouk

Editing: offpaperstudios

Producer: Rose Stokes


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Episode's summary

Big Food helped create the obesity crisis. Should the same industry be allowed to profit from the solution? A Matter of Fat is a podcast for anyone who has no idea what they think about weight, bodies and the rapidly changing conversation around them. Hosted by journalist Rose Stokes, who brings 30 years of lived experience with weight and obesity, and Dr Giles Yeo, a University of Cambridge scientist who has spent three decades studying why people are small, medium or large in our food environment, this podcast brings together lived experience and science without pretending to have all the answers. In episode five, Rose and Giles examine how ultra-processed food has reshaped our diets, appetites and health. They ask whether medication can repair the damage without letting policymakers and the food industry off the hook. We cover: •⁠ ⁠What “ultra-processed food” actually means and why the label can be misleading •⁠ ⁠Whether UPFs are genuinely addictive •⁠ ⁠Why processing can make calories easier for our…

Episodes

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They made us fat. Now they're selling us thin.

Big Food helped create the obesity crisis. Should the same industry be allowed to profit from the solution? A Matter of Fat is a podcast for anyone who has no idea what they think about weight, bodies and the rapidly changing conversation around them. Hosted by journalist Rose Stokes, who brings 30 years of lived experience with weight and obesity, and Dr Giles Yeo, a University of Cambridge scientist who has spent three decades studying why people are small, medium or large in our food environment, this podcast brings together lived experience and science without pretending to have all the answers. In episode five, Rose and Giles examine how ultra-processed food has reshaped our diets, appetites and health. They ask whether medication can repair the damage without letting policymakers and the food industry off the hook. We cover: •⁠ ⁠What “ultra-processed food” actually means and why the label can be misleading •⁠ ⁠Whether UPFs are genuinely addictive •⁠ ⁠Why processing can make calories easier for our…

05 Oct 2026
5-

What Happens When Ozempic Costs £10?

Who gets to be healthy when nutritious food, time, exercise and weight-loss medication all cost money? A Matter of Fat is a podcast for anyone who has no idea what they think about weight, bodies and the rapidly changing conversation around them. Hosted by journalist Rose Stokes, who brings 30 years of lived experience with weight and obesity, and Dr Giles Yeo, a University of Cambridge scientist who has spent three decades studying why people are small, medium or large in our food environment, this podcast brings together lived experience and science without pretending to have all the answers. In episode four, Rose and Giles ask whether good health is becoming something only wealthier people can afford. We cover: • Why eating healthily can take up a far greater percentage of a lower-income household’s budget • The stark link between childhood obesity and socioeconomic inequality • How time, stress, sleep, location and access to safe spaces shape our health • The £100 to £350 monthly cost of accessing GLP-1…

28 Sep 2026
4-

Food Noise vs Jab Noise: Which is Louder?

Episode 3: GLP-1 medications might quieten food noise, but has the noise around weight-loss jabs become impossible to escape? A Matter of Fat is a podcast for anyone who has no idea what they think about weight, bodies and the rapidly changing conversation around them. Hosted by journalist Rose Stokes, who brings 30 years of lived experience with weight and obesity, and Dr Giles Yeo, a University of Cambridge scientist who has spent three decades studying how the brain influences appetite, this podcast brings together lived experience and science without pretending to have all the answers. In episode three, Rose and Giles explore food noise, the impact of GLP-1 medications on appetite and the relentless advertising making weight loss increasingly difficult to escape. A NOTE ON THE LAW: In the UK, it is illegal to advertise a prescription-only medicine to the public. That is Regulation 284 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. It is legislation enforced by the MHRA, and breaching it is a criminal offence.…

21 Sep 2026
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After The After: If We Know Diets Don't Work, Why Do We Still Try?

What happens after the dramatic “after” photo? A Matter of Fat is a podcast for anyone who has no idea what they think about weight, bodies and the rapidly changing conversation around them. Hosted by journalist Rose Stokes, who brings 30 years of lived experience with weight and obesity, and Dr Giles Yeo, a University of Cambridge scientist who has spent three decades studying the genetics of body weight, this podcast brings together lived experience and science without pretending to have all the answers. In episode two, Rose and Giles explore why diets can appear to work, why the weight so often comes back and what years of restriction can do to our bodies and minds. We cover: • Whether it’s really true that 95% of diets fail • Why the brain fights back when we lose weight • Rose’s experience of starting Weight Watchers at just 11 years old • Losing a third of her body weight within a coercive relationship • Why maintaining weight loss can require eating less than someone who was never heavier • The…

14 Sep 2026
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Ozempic Shrinks Everything Except the Shame

What are we supposed to think about weight in 2026? A Matter of Fat is a new podcast for anyone who has no idea what they think about weight, bodies and the rapidly changing conversation around them. Hosted by journalist Rose Stokes, who brings 30 years of lived experience with weight and obesity, and Dr Giles Yeo, a University of Cambridge scientist who has spent three decades studying the genetics of body weight, this podcast brings together lived experience and science without pretending to have all the answers. In our first episode, we confront the elephant in the room: Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy and the arrival of GLP-1 weight-loss medications. We cover: • What GLP-1 medications actually do inside the body • Why weight and appetite are not simply a matter of willpower • Rose and Giles’ own experiences of taking weight-loss medication • Why Giles kept his Wegovy use secret and felt like a fraud • Whether weight-loss drugs really cause muscle loss • Why weight stigma can make losing weight harder, not…

14 Sep 2026