Josie Gibson says her weight is unfair as she 'runs rings around slim pals' (2025)

Big Brother star, Josie Gibson, has opened up about her weight and fitness levels after revealing her shock gout diagnosis when she went for a health MOT on her new show

This Morning star, Josie Gibson, admits she's frustrated with her weight after going for a health MOT on her new show, The 1970s diet. In the series, which sees the bubbly Bristolian swap swanky restaurants for liver and spam, Josie, 40, is told she is suffering from gout – although her fitness levels are 'superior'.

Claiming she's tried every diet going, the Celebrity Big Brother star says she 'runs rings around her slim friends' but is still 'overweight' – something she claims is unfair because she's 'always exercised'. Opening up about her health in the show on Channel 5, she says: "I’m one of the most on the go people I've ever met but my size doesn't fit with my activity. It never has. I do not stop. I've got friends that are really slim and I'm thinking, ‘I run rings around you!’ Sometimes I think, ‘Is it fair?’ but we're all different. I am fit, but I am also overweight.”

As she jumps on an exercise bike and barely breaks a sweat, pedalling at speed, Josie is pleased when her fitness level comes back as superior on the show. “It was nice to know that even though I was overweight, I was at a supreme fitness level,” she says.

“I was expecting to have a low fitness level, even though I've always exercised. But he was like, ‘No, you're at a superior fitness rate.’”

However, in bad news for the mum-of-one, Josie is told she's suffering from gout, which is a form of arthritis in which a substance in the body called uric acid builds up in the joints.

According to the NHS, you may be more likely to get gout if you're overweight, drink alcohol or have high cholesterol.

Admitting she thought gout was "only for old men", Josie says: “I kept saying to the nurse: ‘My toes keep hurting’. I thought gout was only for old men, but I have been living quite a lavish life.

“Before I filmed this show, I caught a lot of flights, I drank a lot of champagne, I ate a lot of rich food and I had little sleep. That’s how I ended up getting gout.”

Fortunately for Josie, there is a lot less luxury involved in her new series, which sees her swap fine dining for boiled potatoes, liver and spam.

“I've come from one extreme to the other,” the presenter says, adding: “I went from living my finest life ever to being brought down to earth with a bang.”

The 1970s Diet introduces Josie to the food, drink and health culture 50 years ago to see if our lifestyles were actually healthier back then.

In 1970 only around 10% of British people were classified as obese - a figure that has now tripled, which Josie says she finds baffling.

Admitting she was shocked by the stats, the presenter concludes: “I was surprised by that. I think of the 1970s and I think of madeira cake, trifles, angel delight… it doesn’t scream healthy - not to me!”

* More information about gout can be found on the Versus Arthritis website, here.

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