Forget detoxing, stop gorging on superfoods and throw out the vitamins, says Dr Giles Yeo, a genetic researcher at Britain's Cambridge University and author of a new book about the science of dieting.

Your weight, it turns out, is largely dictated by your parents. If you put it on easily and find it hard to shed, you won't benefit from a diet devised by someone who loses weight easily and puts it on slowly.