Another would be to regulate sugar loaded lollies and drinks, including fruit flavoured drinks posing as fruit juice in much the same way nicotine products are regulated. I know we consume mountains of it by just looking down the respective aisles at the supermarket, and to allow them to advertise on TV programs children are watching is nothing short of obscene..

Exercise is however, still the most important driver of metabolism. And an active metabolism is the first requirement of a healthy body.

The underlying rule of nutrition is that no single ingredient is used in isolation. Nutrition is about balance. Which brings us to dietary fads. It is an utter fallacy and if the job was fair dinkum promoters would be made accountable for their claims. How long before some ambulance chasing lawyer twigs that there’s money in them there pills? And more strength to his or her arm.

The weight loss industry is based on body image and preys on a society that is either lazy by nature or just too damn busy to follow a healthy lifestyle. Quick fix solutions will always sell. It’s our nature. look at the gambling industry. But the government will do nothing about that because they’re a major beneficiary of it.

So don’t hold your breath waiting for any action from Glorious Leader, Madam Secretary or any of their party hacks on obesity. At least Little Johnny Rotten set an example with his morning walk.

The term ‘nutritionist’ needs some definition before you lump them all together. As one who did her 5 years at University and continues to accumulate the continuing education credits needed to be called an Accredited Nutritionist, I have problems when I’m confused with someone who has done a 3 hour course in how to sell a meal replacement weight loss product being called a ‘nutritionist’.

Naturally enough, not all accredited nutritionists agree on everything - neither do lawyers, architects, economists, teachers or any other professional group. But most ‘real’ nutritionists agree that prevention is probably the only ‘treatment’ for obesity. For those for whom it’s too late for that, we need to find out why the person eats more than he/she needs (bad habits, low needs due to sedentary lifestyle, emotional reasons for seeking comfort in food and drink) and find a way to deal with that for that particular individual. The treatment will be for life. Shakes, pills and various diet foods and products won’t cut it.

Stephen Martin - well done for finding something that suits you. If you had not found a reasonable way to eat moderately and increase your activity, it would be a reasonable guess that you’d probably be a lot fatter now. Maybe some walking as well as the swimming would help burn off the alcohol kilojoules.

Many of the weight loss products are sold in pharmacies, presumably to give them an air of credibility. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make them appropriate or safe - and it certainly doesn’t stop them making outrageous claims. These products would be a good place to start regulation.

I would welcome some government intervention on the claims people make - even if only to stop people claiming that you can lose x kg/week or that spending $60/litre on some exotic berry product or ‘fat blaster’ will help you lose weight. Couldn’t we at least regulate against such names?

I agree with you David that weight loss should not be the end point. Frankly, I consider a tape measure round the waist a much better indicator of fatness than scales. Unfortunately, the waist can sometimes be hard to find.

Dr Rosemary Stanton, nutritionist

OK so what is your answer,a combination of calorie reduction and exercise? It certainly worked for me , I reduced my calories to about 1800 and combined it with 1500m of swimming and was losing something of the order of 1 kg per week for a couple of months, that was 30 odd years ago. I have continued with the swimming, three times per week, and although a bit overweight, nothing like previously. I imagine if I gave up alcohol I would lose a bit more. But you need some pleasures.