There has been so much in the printed media and on the internet about the Berg Diet so I decided to do my own investigation on it.

The trouble is that unless you buy Dr Berg's book you don't get the full picture. I haven't bought this handbook entitled '7 Principles of Fat Burning' but the more I investigate, the more convincing the idea becomes.

This fantastic diet is designed to show you how to activate your fat burning hormones with an eating plan and exercise regime designed especially for your personal body type.

There are lots of charts and diagrams and clear explanations in the book according to one particular person I know who has tried this diet.

Apparently you take some simple tests to determine what body type you have and the whole thing is designed to give the dieter clear instructions as to what food to eat and when. There are, he states, four basic body types.

Dr Berg also says that the most important thing to remember is that you need to be healthy to lose weight and sets about showing you how.

He contends that the dieter should aim to be healthy and that excess weight will drop off as the body becomes more healthy.

As I say, I haven't tried this myself but what I hear about this seems encouraging.

It is becoming very popular again among younger people in the US. I say, again, because it has been around a while.

Dr Eric Berg is a chiropractor specialising in nutritional research and weight loss. His runs an alternative healthcare practise and has trained others to use his methods.

This method of tuning the entire body up until it is healthy and watching the weight disappear in the process is a novel approach, because most weight loss experts claim that if you lose weight you will be healthier.

Dr Berg turns the chicken and egg situation round the other way.