I have recently returned from a trip to the deep South of the United States, visiting Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I know America gets bad press these days but I am a big fan. However, they really love food,  portion sizes are massive and fast food outlets are everywhere.

It’s funny how our lives have changed and how years ago people used to hunt to live and survive. This obviously involved blood, sweat and tears. These days, especially in the states people hunt in their cars and there is drive-in everything, drive-in fast food, drive-in pharmacies, drive-in banks, drive-in supermarkets. In fact people don’t really have to move these days because if you don’t go out hunting in your car someone will bring everything to you.

I couldn’t believe how many overweight people I saw, people of all ages and backgrounds. It’s such a big problem and I am sure we are catching up with our American cousins as us Brits’ waist lines are ever expanding.

In fact, in the plane on the way home I read in a recent survey that almost three-quarters of Britons believe they are overweight and have vowed to start a health campaign in the New Year. This got me wondering as to just how many of these vows will result in success.

Despite almost 70 percent of Britons saying they want to get healthy, experts said other evidence into people's behaviour suggests that repeated warnings about the dangers of obesity is falling on deaf ears.

Perhaps this is highlighted by McDonalds who recently revealed it had recorded growth rates close to their peak of the 1980s -- with 88 million visits to its outlets in the UK last month alone!

It is estimated that obesity causes 9,000 premature deaths each year in England and costs the NHS about one billion pounds annually.

A recent government study predicted that half the population could be obese within 25 years and Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum charity, said the country's obesity crisis was "quite dire".

While it appears people want to tackle obesity, evidence such as the sales figures revealed by McDonalds, paints a markedly different picture.

The government is desperate to do something about this situation and in October, they unveiled a strategy where parents of severely overweight children may be sent letters warning them of the health dangers involved.

Do you think this will make any difference? I am not sure but I know that my weight loss programme is making a difference to many people.

The following is from Sue one of our many success stories:

"I am now 4 stone lighter, and have made the most incredible lifestyle changes since joining back in June"

If you want to see the progress people are making then have a look at our blog and check out our updated video of some of our amazing case studies.

Special Offer:

Take care, and if you want to sign up before Christmas we have a special offer. You can sign up for a 50% discount. Just go to petecohen.tv and use the promo word xmas.

I do come across some strange things in my life - one of them was the other day when I walked past a sandwich shop only to see these packages of food. It kind of takes synthetic, processed foods to another level!

I am sure the real sandwiches in this shop were great but it got me thinking that so many people don’t realise that if they eat lots of packaged and processed foods that they’re probably not getting the necessary nutrients to be healthy.

You may have heard that apparently there are about as many obese people in the world as there are those who are starving. The difference between these groups is that one is overeating and one is under-eating: the similarity is that both are malnourished. Whilst those of us in the developed world have more than enough to eat, the food we’re eating is less nutritious than it used to be. In addition, we lead more stressful lives than we used to and our bodies need vitamins and minerals to help us recover from stress: so we are suffering both from how we live and what we eat, or rather what we don’t eat. Every process that takes place in our body (such as digestion, fat burning, thinking, breathing, walking and talking) requires vitamins and minerals. If we fill up on junk foods, processed foods, sugary foods, deep fried foods and takeaways all we deplete our body’s stores of nutrients. If we don’t replenish our stores, over time, we suffer from poor immunity and, ultimately, ill health; we’ll find it harder to concentrate and process information; we’ll have less energy; and we’ll find it more difficult to metabolise food and burn fat. The good news is that we can reverse this process. When we eat fresh, natural foods, we top up our stock of vitamins and minerals.

Let’s imagine for a minute or two that it’s mid-afternoon and you are hungry. You fancy a snack and you have two choices: an apple and a chocolate bar. What does each option give you? The apple will give you a steady release of energy; vitamin C, which is good for your skin, bones, blood and building immunity; potassium, which helps to regulate your water balance, blood pressure and your heartbeat; and fibre, which keeps your digestive system healthy and helps reduce the risk of colon cancer. The chocolate bar, on the other hand, will give you a sugar hit, which will cause your energy levels to crash; saturated fat, which increases your risk of heart disease – and nothing of any value. When you look at foods like this, don’t you think there’s little competition between them?

Food manufacturers refine foods to make them last longer and so they’re more profitable; but you deserve better than that. No matter what you might think about your body or how long you’ve been abusing it with poor quality food, your body deserves to have fresh, nutritious, natural food.

[Lifted from Cranky Fitness - originally from Morgan's blog]

This spoof infomercial is tres funny, take a look:

Hi there,

I want to say a special thank you to you all for your continuing support of me and my work.

Due to increased demand for my weight loss programme, petecohen.tv, we have changed our internet servers recently. Some of you might have experienced some technical problems and we apologise for any inconvenience this might have caused you.

Next week is a big week for me with the start of GMTV’s Inch Loss Island on ITV.  I have not been on the show for two years and I am very much looking forward to getting back on the “little” screen. Kate Garraway is all set to present Inch-loss Island from January 21st. She'll be joined by four top experts, including me, and four overweight viewers on a remote island cut off from the outside world. The experts will coach the castaways and help them change their eating and exercise habits for life.

One of my ambitions is to help put a dent in the huge obesity problem by helping and supporting people to lose weight.

If you get a chance,  check out  GMTV next week  and follow our participants’  journey on gm.tv from Monday the 21st. There will also be some top tips and advice on the site for you.

Take care,
Pete