Londoners were today urged to get off the Tube and walk instead to improve their health.
Public health minister Anne Milton appealed to commuters to adopt healthier journeys to work as part of Britain's battle against obesity.
"The idea is to get off the bus or the Tube a couple of stops early and walk," she told the Standard.
"You can build up slowly, 10 minutes at a time, until you are getting your 150 active minutes a week rather than taking the Tube or the bus."
The Government has been criticised for being too close to the food industry as the weight crisis worsens.
Former nurse Mrs Milton, who goes to the gym or jogs up to four times a week, rejects the accusations and stresses that individuals need to do more to keep off the pounds.
"Londoners need to take responsibility," she said ahead of the Government's obesity strategy launch tomorrow. "This is not something that happens to people, it's something they are involved in. They have the solution at their feet."
Half of men and more than 40 per cent of women will be obese by 2030 as a result of rich foods, lack of exercise and an ageing population, say experts.
Rising obesity is predicted to lead to an extra 668,000 cases of diabetes, 461,000 of heart disease, and 130,000 of cancer over the next 20 years. This could add £2 billion in costs for the NHS.
