Defeat the formation of much unsafe flab (6)

I believe the answer is:

baffle

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'defeat' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I can't explain the remainder of the clue.

(Other definitions for baffle that I've seen before include "Perplex and bewilder" , "Damper - foil" , "Dumbfound" , "Puzzle - foil" , "Mystify, bewilder" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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