CLOTHES Maketh the Man.

Shakespeare's oft-quoted saying in the mouth of Polonius is just one of that character's long litany of helpful advice to Hamlet's pal Laertes.

But it remains relevant several hundred years later, and perhaps in a way not intended in the play.

Part of my quest for health and fitness is for a better body shape.

Last Saturday, I was exhausted, had finished an extremely busy week in the office, endured a very hard karate session that morning but hauled my sorry self from the Dojo to the gym, and straight on to the treadmill to do my six miles pounding the belt.

And why?

Not just to stave off old age and infirmity, but to do what I can to narrow down the current keg into the future six-pack.

I want a V body, with a waist narrower than my chest. It is as simple and as difficult as that.

And in turn, the reason for this sought-after shape is not to parade about 'taps-aff' like a Glaswegian Schwarzenegger.

I may be on the flamboyant side but there are limits.

No, I want to be able to dress well and cut a dash in office, court, meeting, or just out and about.

I don't think it's vain or self-obsessed to want to present myself as the human form is meant to be and to look - our hunter-gatherer ancestors naturally were fit and lean because they had no real option.

To run down a wild animal for its meat and fur you needed to be strong and light.

Fast-forwarding to our day and age, sadly the temptations of labour-saving devices, and the relentless offerings of indulgent food and drink to us as consumers have made shapeliness the exception rather than the rule.

The slightly bizarre position is that on TV and in magazines and newspapers, there remains everywhere the sight of zero-size models and hunky men advertising everything - and especially clothes.

We are long past the stage where these images of human perfection are aspirational.

At one level they are simply ridiculous, and are a cynical exercise in reader manipulation.

At another, they are almost a taunt to those looking in while resting their unwanted and unnecessary bulk in a comfy chair.

Those who look are themselves complicit in this charade.

Whenever someone complains that skinny models and actors are unrealistic, they are either ignored or derided.

The one time Marks & Spencer used and promoted average-sized women in an advertising campaign several years ago, it was a flop - in more ways than one - and the very same people who had complained about supermodels now moaned that they were being patronized.

Crucially though, the adverts didn't sell more clothes, and that was - again in more ways than one - the bottom line.

Obesity is at epidemic levels and last week the news headlines told us that the cost of fighting the problems of the morbidly overweight is more than for all cancers put together.

When you add on the cost of producing and then buying the extra food that is consumed but not needed, the figures run into the billions.

Set that against poverty and famine in other parts of the world, and there is a gross imbalance in the distribution of food and resources on this plant.

If only our strongest motivator was not how to fill an already comfortable belly, but to be equally selfish when it comes to appearance.

As with other issues I write about, self-analysis is at the heart of recovery. The mirror is our strongest weapon here.

We spend most of our day not being able to see much of ourselves, though everyone sees us and we see - and judge - everyone. But standing in front of the glass, especially stripped down to the basics or nothing, should be the wake-up call. You can hold in your tummy and stick out your chest, but the reality still bites. Indeed when I go to get my hair cut (okay, I know, I know), sit down in the chair and the gown is put over my top half, I am left staring at my fizzog in the mirror for the whole 10 minutes it takes to shear what's left of my barnet.

Every line, every lump, every crease is painfully visible, and if it is the end of a long day, I can look like death warmed up.

The therapy is not difficult. Get into the habit of standing in front of a long mirror, and time yourself for no less than two minutes.

Turn around, move arms and legs, walk on the spot.

That's how other people observe you, and no amount of shapeless tops or elasticated trousers will really hide what's wrong.

Not everyone can be a Greek God or Goddess, but we can all try, and we can all frankly do better. So as the festive season approaches, there is still time to get into shape, and look good in a tailored outfit instead of hiding in an oversized Christmas sweater.