And yet, American calorific intake has decreased, on average, by 100 calories per day in the past 10 years. Americans also tend to drive rather than walk, so a lack of exercise might be said to be built in to their lives. Add to this the fact that computers, DVDs and other sedentary entertainments are cheaper than ever and the tendency to bloat looks difficult to resist. We in Britain need to be watchful. Wittingly or otherwise, we often take our cues from America.
Temptation is at the root of our problems.
Just as pornography corrupts people into performing sex acts that they would never have thought of alone, so we are titillated and tormented by gastro-porn shoved at us from every angle, which sets us slavering for things we were once perfectly happy to do without. We now think about food far more often than we used to. Television schedules are dominated by cooks, while newspapers and magazines seize upon stories about stars such as Kate Winslet and Sophie Dahl trying to lose weight. Anyone watching GMTV will be agog each morning at Inch Loss Island, where volunteer fatties have been held virtual prisoners since January 15 to remove temptation and help them heed their dieticians' commands. So far, the experiment supports the theory that there is no such thing as an inability to lose weight because of a slow metabolism.