Well, really!

New 'Minister for Fitness'

The population seems to be getting fat at an alarming rate. The Beeb reports that since 2003 – that's only three years ago – adult obesity has risen by 38%, according to a Department of Health report due this week. The Government is clearly worried. Fat people cost money.

So they are appointing a minister to sort it out. Not, as you might expect, someone with solid experience of the problem – such as the Fat Controller – but the comely Public Health minister Caroline Flint. One time Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Reid when he was Leader of the House, Flint is MP for Don Valley and enjoys tap dancing with the Division Belles, a troupe of Labour women MPs; not the sort of group that would welcome the Fat Controller as a member. She says that she wants people to build physical activity into their daily routines to create a healthier nation in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics, although I don't think there's any suggestion that this will increase our chance of medals.

We certainly need to take more exercise – and for kids a bit more opportunity for time on the sports field and less time swotting for endless exams would help – but I'm with Conservative MP and former shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe on this:

"You do have to ask whether the government has a big role to play in this. I think it has a role, but not the decisive role. I don't think this will be solved by government dictat."

Surely the question to ask is: why have people so suddenly started putting on so much weight? According to the charity Weight Concern, 43% of men and 34% of women were overweight in 2002 (body mass index of 25-29.9 kg/m2), while a staggering 22% of men and nearly a quarter of women were obese (a body mass index above 30 kg/m2). It's been estimated that if these trends continue, one third of all adults and 50% of all children in the UK will be clinically obese by 2020 [Health Select Committee report on Obesity, May 2004].

25 years ago, 'just' 6% of men and 8% of women were obese. Ignoring all that BMI stuff, being obese means a waist measurement typically more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Look around the average shopping mall on a Saturday and you can see that Weight Concern probably have it about right.

I hope Ms Flint will start asking the right questions, and fast.

Blair Calls for Lifestyle Change

"Blair calls for lifestyle change", shouts the BBC News headline. It's not often I agree with Blair, I thought, but this time I do. What I fancy – by way of a lifestyle change – is a month in Barbados, playing tennis, swimming, chilling, and generally living the good life. Unfortunately I don't have any rich chums out there who could put me up for a few weeks.

But it seems this is not what the PM had in mind. He wants people to "take more responsibility for their health" to relieve pressure on the NHS. Not, you may notice, for their own benefit, but to cut costs and reduce the workload of the NHS.

Of course, not being fat, and not smoking, and not overdoing the alcohol, are all good things. Not because they save the NHS money, but because life is just better that way. But it's not going to happen by nannying about and banning junk food advertising (nor by opening the pubs 24 hours a day).

It needs education (with a small 'e') and more genuine opportunities for a more active life. Plus the time to enjoy it. Less testing and exams at school, less pressure and targets at work. Not selling off school playing fields for housing development. Sport in school time, not as an afterthought. A safer environment for cycling (and that doesn't mean half-baked and ill thought out cycle paths), especially for kids, who are less traffic-aware and assertive. More activity holidays, without Health and Safety standing over the leaders. Extending, not cancelling guided walks in the Lake District because they attract the wrong colour of skin...

Women Train for 2012 Olympics

Women are to be trained as builders in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics, at a cost of £20 million, according to the Beeb. This is an excellent idea – one of the Government's better policies – as it will allow the blokes to sit and watch the sport while the women finish the stadium. Afterwards the women will take part in weightlifting and hammer throwing.