Indeed, one of the suggestions on how to encourage your fat friends to lose weight from the research today is: “Don’t ask what an obese person is doing at a gym, or mock their efforts.” Why on earth do we need to tell people that? Following on from this is a comment in one of the articles from Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum: ‘Put yourself on the side of the person whose lifestyle you wish to change. Be understanding and talk to the person rather than at them.” I despair. Apart from the obvious dictatorial tone, I despair that we need to be told to have compassion towards our fellow humans.