fitness expert said yesterday.

Mr. Cy Ryberg said: "The biggest killer in the Western world is heart disease -- but diabetes could be number one very soon.'' The warning came at a meeting of Hamilton Rotary Club in the Hamilton Princess yesterday.

Diabetes has become one of the major health problems in Bermuda in recent years.

Mr. Ryberg said that the underlying cause of both heart disease and diabetes was obesity caused by lack of exercise.

He said: "We take better care of our cars, our social life and our pets than we do our own bodies.

"A body needs three things. Rest, fuel and exercise -- but we have turned a fat-burning machine into a fat-storing machine.'' And he warned: "The bottom line is if you don't lose it, you will lose it period.'' Mr. Ryberg was an umpire on the professional baseball circuit in the US, is a member of the National Strength Association and a qualified personal fitness adviser.

His California-based organisation has advised a host of top sportsmen, including players from the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders.

Mr. Ryberg said that many people hid behind a host of excuses for avoiding taking enough exercises, like lack of time.

But he pointed out that there are far more overweight people between the ages of 45-55 than there is between the ages of 75-85 -- because a large number of overweight people do not live past middle age.

And he said that dieting alone could never lead to weight loss on a permanent basis.

Mr. Ryberg demonstrated some of his special exercise techniques, using Rotarians as guinea pigs.

He said; "Ninety percent of people are de-conditioned -- but 15 to 20 minutes of exercise three days a week of the right intensity, frequency and duration can make all the difference.'' Mr. Cy Ryberg HEALTH HTH