Dr Stanton, OAM, was at the University of Tasmania, in Launceston yesterday for a community nutrition lecture hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia.

About 200 people turned out to listen to Dr Stanton, University of New Mexico emeritus Professor Robert Glew and public health and nutrition adviser Judy Seal talk about weight loss, the importance of fish oils and iodine deficiencies in Tasmania.

``Some people are more likely to gain weight than others because of their genes, but basically it is all about what we eat and how much exercise we do,'' Dr Stanton said.

``We also need to see if people are using food for comfort, whether we are eating because we are hungry, why we are eating and we should stop looking for something magic.

``The whole idea of diets are so you can lose lots of weight really quickly and that it's all of a sudden going to be really easily. You gain weight over 10, 20 and 30 years, yet people want to lose it in 20 to 30 days.''

Professor Glew explained the importance of fish oils, particularly for women during pregnancy and children, and highlighted the level of fish consumed by Australian children was as low as those in the US and Africa.

He said European children tended to eat more fish and Asian children had a much more adequate intake for brain development.