Fat certainly is a statement. It says loud and clear, "I'm not taking care of my body, and I'm going to die early." So be it.

Most dieters fail, not because they are bad people but because -- brace yourself -- they're hungry.

"Hungry" is relative. Your stomach and brain both adapt to expectations. If you regularly eat until you're bloated, "hunger" will take more to fulfill. But you can adapt your intake gradually to reduce what you consume, and "hunger" will then be satisfied with less food. Crash diets are a failure because they try to change it too fast.

Don't neglect the impact of exercise either. Dieters who think just dieting will fix the problem are wasting their time. Not only does it not give them a better body, but the "healthy" calorie intake for someone doing regular exercise is significantly higher than for someone who never walks more than the distance from their front door to the car.

And there's *what* you eat as well. You can fill yourself up with a plate of chips or two wholemeal bread sandwiches, but the plate of chips has a damn sight more calories in it. Not to mention crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and other "empty" calories.

Now, though, comes the exciting news that some people -- and you know who you are -- are supposed to be fat

Yes, there are some such people who have genetic disorders or injuries to their internal organs such that they can't properly process fats and sugars. Proportionately it's well under 1% of the population. If you think you're suffering from this, three questions:-

* Did you eat any sweets, chocolate, crisps or fried food last week?
* Did you drink any fizzy drinks or beer last week?
* Did you do less than 90 minutes of strenuous exercise (jogging, cycling, etc) last week?

If you can answer "yes" to one or more, this is not you. You are fat either because you've chosen to be fat, or because you've chosen not to do anything about it.

Graham.