Aside from the obvious cosmetic drawbacks, being obese (seventy percent above your ideal weight) has other negative effects:

• It can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol level.

• The obese have higher rates of heart disease and stroke.

• Obesity plays a role in some cases of diabetes.

• Overweight women have higher rates of breast cancer.

• A US study in the past showed that overweight girls are less likely to marry. They also undergo less schooling; have lower incomes and higher rates of poverty.

Are diet pills a good idea?

This is hotly debated. Tablets such as fenfluramine reduce appetite and promote weight loss, which is why leading nutritionists are taking a renewed interest. Usually they are taken as a course over several weeks.

On the other hand, diet pills occasionally prove addictive. Side effects such as irritability and insomnia are relatively common. Plus weight is easily put back after finishing a course.

Could the answer lie in our genes?

Scientists at the Rockefeller Institute in California have made a fascinating discovery. Some mice who suffer from a specific genetic mutation eat vast amounts and rapidly become obese. But correct their so-called “ob-gyne” defect by genetic engineering and they rapidly slim down. They eat much less and become more active. Might a similar obesity gene exist in humans? Intense research activity might soon yield the answer.

If all else fails why not surgery?

• Liposuction. A metal tube is inserted into the fat beneath your skin. A vacuum contraption is attached, and you are transformed into an instant Kate Moss.

• Jaw wiring. If you cannot eat, you should lose weight. Water and essential nutrients are sucked through a straw. A wire cutter needs to be carried at all times; otherwise a bout of vomiting could prove fatal.

• Stomach balloons. A balloon is anchored in the stomach and then inflated. However hungry you feel, there is no way you can squeeze in a meal.

Filed under: Fitness by Don