Big Brother was a big TV hit in the UK

Every pound lost, every ounce of sweat exuded, will be caught on camera.

Each week the person who loses least weight will be thrown, or rather squeezed, out the door.

The winner is the slimmer who lasts longest.

Endemol hopes to replicate the success of Big Brother, which saw TV viewers across Europe glued to their sofas.

Couch potatoes

Success this time depends on coach potatoes at home, watching couch potatoes sweating on the screen.

From sauna to gym, from meagre meal, to worried work-out, every second of calorie-counting angst will be captured on camera.

But doctors are already concerned at the health risks.

At least four weight-loss experts declined to take part in the series.

Dr Wolfgang Siegfried, of the Insula Rehabilitation Centre, said the contestants risked developing eating disorders, such as bulimia, and could develop psychosomatic problems.

A gradual change of lifestyle without pressure would be preferable, he said.

Rising childhood obesity

The programme comes at a time of increasing concern over obesity, particularly amongst children.

A recent issue of the respected news magazine, Der Spiegel, described the present generation as Generation XXL... or extra large.

Two million children in Germany are now thought to be overweight.

Slouching on a sofa watching others trying to slim on TV is hardly going to help.