The message should first and foremost be that a balanced diet combined with a healthy and active lifestyle is the most effective way to lose weight and promote good health...

With estimates predicting that 60 per cent of the population will be clinically obese by 2050 and with obesity costing the NHS £7.2 Billion a year, one would expect the government to come up with more substantial solutions that are based on facts and practical solid advice.

On 21 January 2010, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced the suspension of the obesity drug sibutramine which also goes by the names Reductil and Meridia, in the UK and the rest of Europe.

The suspension of Reductil follows a review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which conducted a trial with 10,000 participants and found the risks of taking Reductil far outweigh the benefits. In fact, that’s a massive understatement, as it’s been found to increase the risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes... not a trade-off I for one would like to make!

One of the worst offenders making us fat and unhealthy though is a hidden ingredient added to numerous food and drink products...

In fact, it is the number one source of calories in fizzy drinks: high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame are supposed to enhance the taste of foods but, unlike sugar, are virtually devoid of calories.

The unspoken promise here is that by consuming artificial sweeteners you have better control over keeping an eye on your weight. While this makes sense, you might be surprised to know that there is no good evidence to support this ‘promise’.

Yep, not one single properly conducted study exists in scientific literature that proves artificial sweeteners actually aid weight loss. So, either the studies haven’t been done, or they have been done but haven’t been published...

If you come across let’s say a ‘new wonder supplement’ that promises to make you lose weight, burn fat super fast without any exercise, maintain healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation and is an anti- diabetic, you won’t be blamed for thinking: Yeah right, somewhere, someone is having a laugh...

That’s exactly what I thought when I heard of Irvingia Gabonensis, the latest weight loss supplement to hit the marketplace. Knowing how many people struggle to keep their weight down or combat obesity, I simply had to investigate and find out exactly what the truth is behind Irvingia Gabonensis.

Earlier this week I wrote about the side-effects (or rather ‘treatment effects’) of the over-the-counter ‘diet drug’ Alli. Since then, weight loss and diet have been on my mind and this morning, when I saw a morbidly obese woman struggling on her way to work it struck me: Perhaps for some people the urgency to lose weight is a pressing matter, but a very difficult obstacle to overcome.

Let’s face it, if you are morbidly obese, going on an exercise programme can be a daunting (if not impossible) prospect – it’s even a struggle for me. It’s then no wonder that some people look for help in measures such as harmful diet pills and invasive procedures like gastric bypasses.

US researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that people with a serious snoring problem use around 2,000 calories a day while at rest, compared to an average of 1,626 calories for those who snore lightly.

Here’s a thought from the UK Obesity statistics: About 46 per cent of men in England and 32 percent of women are overweight – meaning the have a body mass index of 25-30 kg/m2. An additional 17 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women are obese - a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2. Recently the obesity problem in the UK has been called: The disease of our time. This comes as the latest government figures show no drop in the number of children who are obese, despite an array of strategies to tackle the problem. The latest research warns that one in three adults in the UK will be obese by 2012.

Researchers from Japan recently discovered that omega-3-rich fish oil could reduce body weight gain by boosting fat metabolism.

The study adds to the ever-growing list of health benefits linked to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids - such as improving cognitive function and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

Numerous studies have revealed a link between coffee consumption and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It was previously thought that it was the caffeine in coffee which was responsible for this effect. However, a recent US study of 28,000 women found that drinking more than six cups of decaffeinated coffee a day was associated with a 33 per cent lower risk of diabetes compared with no coffee. Further research pointed to substances called chlorogenic acids (polyphenols with antioxidant activity) in coffee as being responsible for its beneficial action on glucose metabolism. However, some studies showed that it was necessary to consume copious amounts of coffee for it to have this effect. Consequently this led researchers to develop a coffee bean extract rich in chlorogenic acids which has now been adapted into a natural food supplement.