Eat with others. Research shows people tend to match their food intake to their dining partner. Eating with a lady friend should mean 35 per cent fewer calories.

But even if calorie intake trumps exercise, this does not mean exercise does not play a key role in helping people stay trim.

The long half-lives of PCDDs, PCDFs and “dioxin-like” PCBs mean that each daily ingestion has a small or even a negligible effect on overall intake.