The fat face of modern Britain

JUST IN CASE New Year's resolutions to lose that festive spare tyre are wavering, the BBC today revealed the results of its poll on the nation's eating habits.

It makes a depressing read. Almost 40 per cent of the British population fail to take weekly exercise and women are much less likely to exercise than men.

About four in 10 people see themselves as overweight or even obese. The nutrition specialists' golden rule of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day has fallen by the wayside in modern Britain, with most people managing fewer than three portions daily. "It's a typical snapshot of the way we live now," says BBC Education executive Fiona Pitcher. "We're quite clued up about the most effective way to eat healthily but we find it much harder to do." The poll was commissioned for the BBC's Fighting Fat, Fighting Fit campaign, which starts tonight with an hour-long programme, Weight of the Nation, presented by serial dieter Dale Winton. It's not all bad news for those intending to enjoy the delights of burger bars this year. Baywatch, the Californian TV series populated by slim, swimming-costumed beach babes, is currently searching for an actress with a fuller figure - a move seen as part of a Hollywood trend away from model-skinny women.

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