How can I motivate my obese brother to lose weight. His health continues to slide and he now has problems moving around. He is 54 years old and his eating his way to an early death. I may be too aggressive with motivation ideas but his doctor says his habits must change soon or his already damaged heart will be stop. He is a smoker and though he is a patient at a reputable obesity clinic since Jan 2007; he has gained weight instead of losing it. I'm open to all ideas at this stage. Thank You!

If his doctor telling him that he will die isn't enough motivation, I can't imagine what you can do. Have you had him screened for depression? Clinical depression can make you not want to do anything.

One thing you can do is throw out the table salt and use sea salt. Also try and get him to use olive oil instead of the common vegetable oils--even canola oil is bad for your health. These two things made a world of difference to my health. If you can't get him to do another thing get him to switch on these two things. Even if you have to buy them for him and throw his table salt and cooking oil out when you give him the sea salt and olive oil.

Unless you shop and/or cook for him there isn't much you can do to change his ways. Most peoples attitude is 'at least I will die happy' I have tried to tell people things to do to fight everything from laziness to cancer and they all say things like 'Well I AM getting old you know'.