OVERWEIGHT people have a lean time of it when looking for professional help, according to a nutritional expert.

Middlesbrough lecturer and state registered dietician Dr Carolyn Summerbell said there was a lack of standardised treatment for obesity across the country, as identified in the National Audit Report published recently.

"Doctors and nurses deliver very different treatments because they have not all received training in this area when they were qualifying," she said.

Dr Summerbell, a reader in human nutrition at the University of Teesside, will explore the prevalence of obesity with a free public lecture on campus, on May 2, at 6.30pm