Weight-loss drugs reduce cancer risk, study finds: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme: Can weight-loss drugs reduce the risk of cancer?

Hello, I'm Neil. And I'm Georgie.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com

So let's hear more about this story.

Weight-loss drugs could reduce the risk of getting cancer by half,

new research suggests.

Cancer experts are excited by the findings, with one saying

that this could be a whole new era of preventative cancer medicine.

Obesity is associated with 13 different cancers.

Losing weight reduces the risk,

but the researchers have calculated that the weight loss drugs provide

an additional protective effect that is more than just weight loss.

And our first headline is about this.

This headline from the Daily Record.

Weight loss jabs may prevent cancer due to health benefits 'beyond weight loss'.

And that headline again from Daily Record: Weight loss jabs

may prevent cancer due to health benefits 'beyond weight loss'.

And we're looking at this word 'jab'.

What is a weight-loss jab, Georgie?

Well jab is another word for injection. An injection -

that's the act of putting a needle into the skin to insert medicine.

Now jab is mostly used for vaccinations,

but here it's about these weight-loss drugs which are injected.

Yes. Now jab is quite an informal word

and it became a lot more common during the Covid pandemic

when people were talking about the Covid vaccinations.

Yeah. So you might hear someone ask, 'Have you had your jabs?'

Which means have you had your vaccinations?

Jab has some other meanings.

It can be a verb meaning to poke something quickly and forcefully,

usually with something pointy like a finger or a pencil.

For example, I was in a crowded place and someone was in a rush.

They jabbed me in the ribs with their elbow to get past me.

Ouch. Poor you Neil!

Now, a jab can also mean an insulting comment,

and we can use it in the phrase 'take a jab at someone'.

So, for example, my sister always takes jabs at me for my fashion sense.

She says the colours I wear don't suit me.

We've had jab - injection. For example,

I hate getting jabs.

I'm really scared of needles.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about the suggestion

that weight-loss drugs could reduce the risk of cancer.

The study involved tracking patients for eight years

and found that weight-loss injections were better at reducing the risk

of cancer than weight-loss surgery.

The authors of the study think this could be

because the drugs reduce inflammation in the body

and help the immune system destroy cancer cells.

Let's have our next headline.

This one is from The Telegraph.

Weight-loss jabs 'halve the risk of cancer'.

And that headline again.

Weight-loss jabs 'halve the risk of cancer'.

That was from The Telegraph.

So we can see that word jabs again.

The jabs halve the risk of cancer.

But this time we're looking at halve.

Now Neill, it sounds a bit like half, doesn't it?

Yes. The noun half with the 'f' sound means 50% of something.

Half of four is two, for example.

But here it's a verb - halve, with a 'v' sound.

Yes, it can mean to divide something into two parts.

So imagine a pizza.

I could halve a pizza into two parts, for example.

But in the headline it means to reduce the amount to 50%.

Reduce the risk of cancer to half.

Halve the cancer risk.

Yes, the word quarter can also be a noun and a verb.

A quarter of something - that's the noun - is 25% of it.

To quarter something -

the verb - means to divide it into four parts or reduce it to 25%.

Yes, but we can't do the same with a third or any other fraction.

They work as nouns - a third, a fifth, an eighth.

You're not likely to see them as verbs.

We've had halve - reduce by half.

For example, the theme park halved its prices for the day

to attract more customers.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about the weight-loss drugs

that could reduce the risk of cancer.

So this study used earlier versions of the weight-loss drugs, known

as GLP-1s, which were initially brought out to treat diabetes.

Since the study began, newer, more effective drugs have come out,

and the authors of the study say these may be even more beneficial

for reducing cancer risks.

OK, let's look at our next headline.

This one is from Sky News.

Weight loss jabs could almost halve risk of obesity-related cancers

beyond slimming down, study suggests.

And again, that headline from Sky News.

Weight loss jabs could almost halve risk of obesity-related cancers

beyond slimming down, study suggests.

This headline is about the drugs having effects beyond just weight loss,

and we see that word halve again.

But this time we're looking at the phrasal verb slim down.

So you might know the adjective slim which has a similar meaning to thin.

But what about the verb slim down?

Well it has two meanings.

Both are related to making something smaller.

Here in the headline it means become thinner by losing weight.

The jabs have effects that go beyond just slimming down.

Another example: My dad says he wants to slim down

before our friend's wedding so he can fit into his old suit.

Slim down can also mean to reduce something in size or quantity.

Now this is usually used in a business setting.

Yeah. So for example, the company needs to slim down its workforce to cut costs.

We've had slim down - become thinner.

For example, his doctor told him

that slimming down was important for his health.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

We learnt the phrasal verb slim down,

but we have a whole series about phrasal verbs on our website.

Search Phrasal verbs with Georgie on bbclearningenglish.com

Don't forget to follow us on social media, search for BBC Learning English.

Goodbye for now. Goodbye.