A fat-fighting campaigner from England has flown into Bermuda to help tackle alarming obesity rates.

Jane DeVille-Almond, a director of the UK's National Obesity Forum, is on the Island for a series of workshops launched yesterday as part of Government's Healthy Weight Action Plan.

She will be swapping ideas with Bermuda's health professionals aimed at reversing a trend which has led to 61 percent of people being classed as obese or overweight, compared with 40 percent in the UK.

Bermuda's levels of childhood obesity have also sparked concern, with a recent survey revealing one in three five- to ten-year-olds is obese or overweight; and nurses saying they have dealt with ten to 12-year-old diabetics weighing 300 pounds.

"Bermuda has got one of the highest obesity problems," Ms DeVille-Almond told The Royal Gazette. "You have got a real problem with your children. From what I can see there are not enough footpaths or space, and too many high-fat diets.

"It's a society that enjoys eating — barbecues, high-fat food. Being an Island, healthy products are more expensive. More kids are watching TV. There's a high proportion of people who drink too much.

"It's about changing the whole culture."

The nurse consultant's efforts in the UK have included working closely with traditionally obese groups, such as long-distance truck drivers, while she has operated from the back of barber shops so that people can get weight advice when they go for a haircut.

She said similar approaches could be adopted in Bermuda, particularly taking advantage of the large number of beauty parlours. "We try to take health out to the general public," she said. "Women go and get their hair done, their feet done. Why not have weight management while they're there? Get them on the scales."

She also suggested making use of modern technology by encouraging children to air their thoughts on obesity on popular websites such as YouTube and MySpace. Asked for advice on losing weight, Ms DeVille-Almond said: "Exercise is really good for maintenance, but not particularly for weight loss.

"You have to understand the simple principles. If you take in more calories than your body needs, you will get fat; and if you take in less calories, you will lose weight."

As an example, she warned that one extra chocolate biscuit a day would cause you to put on six pounds in a year.

Ms DeVille-Almond's visit was organised by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with Bermuda Diabetes Association and Bermuda Heart Foundation.

Introducing her at a press conference yesterday, Health Minister Michael Scott said: "For many of us, the first port of call when we have a health problem is a health professional. The activity we are launching today is aimed at assisting health and associated professionals to be better equipped to help individuals who are overweight or obese.

"In addition to her expertise and status, I have to mention the energy and passion with which Ms DeVille-Almond attacks the challenge of obesity. Her approach is to think outside the box, and that is exactly what this problem needs today."

Calling for people to face up to the obesity survey findings, he said: "There is an elephant in the room and we tend to dance around the fact of the elephant's presence by using language like he or she is 'big-boned'," said the Minister. "Or it's just 'baby fat'. These particular euphemisms are attempts to say that it's OK for an adult or child to weigh more than in healthy."