Brown 'gets fit for fight ahead'

by Julian Joyce
BBC News

Gordon Brown's photo-opportunity in July was derided by the media

Gordon Brown has hired a personal fitness trainer to get him into shape over the summer holidays, according to reports on which Downing Street has so far declined to comment.

Newspapers reported that the trainer, Millie Dobie, travels to the Browns' holiday home in Suffolk for early morning running and fitness sessions.

It follows recent cruel comparisons made between Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron at the start of the politicians' annual holidays.

Then, same-day photo opportunities of the 57-year-old PM and his 41-year-old opposition counterpart showed a stiff and somewhat stout PM versus a relaxed and slim-looking Cameron, in "Boden man" shorts and kissing his wife on a Cornish beach.

'Feeling of well-being'

According to Monday's reports, Ms Dobie has the job of raising Mr Brown's fitness levels ready for his return to work in September - when he is said to be facing growing dissatisfaction with his leadership, and even a possible mutiny by his own MPs.

Although Mr Brown's levels of fitness are not known and he is said to be a member of the Westminster gym, he is also famous for his long hours and late nights behind his Downing Street desk.

At the moment, Mr Brown looks stiff and flustered and as though he might come apart under pressure Jodie Harrison, GQ Magazine In pictures: Leaders' fitness

Unlike his predecessor, Tony Blair, there have been no accounts of regular tennis sessions or prowess as a "keepy-uppy" football wizard.

Experts say that as well as improving his physical health, any exercise Mr Brown takes over the summer will help him combat the mental stress brought on by any political infighting later in the year.

Dr Kevin Sykes, a professor of occupational health and fitness at the University of Chester, identifies two crucial chemicals in the brain - oxytocin and serotonin - which could help Mr Brown in the fight ahead.

He said: "These are neuro-transmitters that promote a feeling of well-being. Their levels are raised by regular exercise.

"When they are released, they make you feel relaxed, free the mind and reduce anxiety and stress.

"What we find is that people who do regular exercise sleep better and are better able to solve mental problems.

"Exercise also pumps more blood and oxygen and clears out metabolytes - waste products in the brain.

"Getting fitter will help Mr Brown think faster on his feet."

'Big guy'

But it isn't just the mental benefits that Mr Brown is likely to reap from his fitness sessions, says GQ Magazine's Style and Grooming Editor Jodie Harrison.

She said: "There is a lot more pressure these days for politicians to look better turned out.

In contrast, David Cameron's pictures were praised for their relaxed feel

"You only have to look at how Barack Obama has raised the game - he looks so calm and well put together.

"Then there's France's president Nicolas Sarkozy out jogging and Vladimir Putin's bare chest.

"In comparison, Gordon Brown is a big guy - and he could look fitter."

Being physically fit, says Ms Harrison, might convey a "sense of calm" that the electorate, and possibly even his own MPs, could warm to.

"At the moment, Mr Brown looks stiff and flustered and as though he might come apart under pressure. Compare this with how David Cameron looked on his beach photo-opportunity.

"I know it had been set up, but Cameron looked relaxed and comfortable. Brown, in contrast, looks stressed - and that comes across as surly."

'Too thin to win'

If there's a crumb of comfort for Mr Brown, then it might lie in the United States where the "slim equals successful" equation for political victory may not be as clear-cut as previously thought.

Here, in one of the most obese nations on earth, being slim and healthy is now being touted by some as a positive disadvantage to electoral success.

Advisors to Republican presidential candidate John McCain's campaign are now said to be targeting the "ordinary Joe" credentials of Democrat challenger Barack Obama.

Mr Obama has a well-known distaste for the junk food and unhealthy lifestyles enjoyed by millions of American voters.

One newspaper columnist has even raised the question that Mr Obama might be "too thin to win".

If Gordon Brown's exercise regime fails to pay off and the pounds refuse to fall off over the summer, then the prime minister might find himself looking enviously across the Atlantic.