Alli, a half-strength version of the prescription-only Xenical, which interferes with the body's ability to digest fat, and Appesat, a seaweed extract, which is said to swell up and trick the brain into thinking the stomach is full, will cost £1-a-day and £29.95 for 50 capsules respectively.

Residential weight loss program begins a new semester on East and West Coasts

Scientists from Oxford and the Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, have identified the most clear genetic link yet to obesity in the general population. People with two copies of a particular gene variant have a 70 per cent higher risk of being obese than those with no copies.