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As Weight Watchers ditches 'before and after' photos, saying they are outdated, motivational weightloss speaker Steve Miller says the firm is taking away a powerful motivator for getting healthy.

Mr Miller argues that society is in danger of becoming "too soft on fat" and warns that "fat denial" can have dangerous consequences.

I was stunned this morning, as I bit into my melon, to hear the announcement that Weight Watchers were ditching 'before and after' photos.

‘Why on Earth would they want to take away the inspiration such photographs deliver?’ I asked myself, especially given that two thirds of Brits are overweight or obese, AKA too fat.

Nothing inspires a fat person like a before and after photo.

To witness body transformation from fat to slim is always a strong motivator for someone struggling with their weight.

It is like a hypnotic suggestion yelling out ‘yes, you can look like this too’.

But I do also wonder if we as a nation are becoming too soft on fat. Let’s face it, even the word now triggers an ‘ouch’ in the politically correct climate we live in.

Is it now time to start calling that fatty piece of meat that you relish on a Sunday ‘obese'?

Should the word 'fat' be replaced by ‘curvy’? Perhaps the ‘fat’ word should be removed from the dictionary?

Of course I jest. The one thing we should not and must not do is to allow ourselves go into fat denial, given the shocking health consequences being too fat brings.

But there is another observation I have made in my 10 years’ experience helping fat people become slim. That is, most fat people have no issue with the word ‘fat’.

You see, the PC climate is actually making us fatter.

We are indeed normalising fat as a way of life and I fear today’s announcement of taking away before and after photos might only add weight to the denial of how fat we are becoming.

I remember when I was too fat.

Before and after photos inspired me, motivated me and made me want to eat less, eat better and move more so that I could feel confident once again, and improve my health.

I didn’t want it wrapped up. I was fat and I needed to take action.

Telling me it was okay to be fat wouldn’t have helped in my mission to restore my physical and emotional wellbeing. It would have just given me permission to get even fatter and ultimately become ill.

So I send out a plea to Weight Watchers to reverse their decision. I urge them to see the benefit that before and after photos bring.

Weight loss isn’t just about the food. It is a challenge of getting the mindset and motivation in the right place.

We can never have enough role models showcasing how they have gone from fat to slim, so let’s not put the brakes on that. Perhaps now is also the time to start championing slim acceptance.

After all, nothing else seems to be working right now.