The world is full of diets - Hip & Thigh, Atkins diet, Cabbage Soup diet, GI dietthe list is endless.

A few chuckles were raised in our office when news came through of a new way to lose weight - by wearing a pair of sandals.

Power Diet Sandals can, apparently, help the wearer to burn up to 300 calories on a half-hour walk.

Inspired by sand bag training techniques, the weighted sole trims and tones and can help people lose weight as part of a calorie controlled diet.

Having seen the sandals, I'm not entirely convinced. But I recognise a good idea when I see it. And using footwear and clothes as an aid to weight loss is a great idea. Better than any diet plan.

There are plenty of clothes and shoes that, rather than being worn simply as fashion items, can be put to far better use as part of a diet plan:

l Hip-and-thigh hipsters: How anyone who wears jeans that fasten on the hips rather than the waist leads a normal life beats me. The majority of the population - young and old - choose them, but seem to spend all their time clutching the waist, trying to hike them up. This constant action must be a great way of toning the upper arms. And because these trousers leave vast swathes of your midriff exposed, they also offer a great incentive to the wearer to lose weight.

l Diet dresses: As the saying goes, a picture speaks 1000 words'. One of the main triggers that convinces people to go on a diet is seeing themselves as other people see them. Many people have embarked on a serious diet regime after seeing themselves in photographs or on home movies, usually at a wedding, almost always in their best dress (which is generally a figure-hugging, strapless affair). If you want an incentive to lose weight, the next time you're invited to a wedding, choose the dress that shows off all your worst bits, and make sure you receive a copy of the video.

l Weigh-in wellies: A pair of wellingtons two sizes too big will have you dropping a dress size in no time. You will burn millions of calories just trying to keep them on. If you want to be stick-thin, try tramping across Ilkley Moor when the heather is in bloom. Heaving the wellies out of the thick, coarse undergrowth will have you looking like Kate Moss in no time.

l Espadrilles: Does anyone own a pair that stay tied? No wonder wearers always appear slim and trim, they are forever bending down to do up the laces.

l Tights of all description: Do I need to explain? We've all been there. A great accessory to help flatten stomachs.

Just when I was about to round off this column with a line about it all being tongue-in-cheek, a press release fluttered across my desk. For a pair of Earth' trainers which help burn three times more calories than when wearing standard trainers.' And, worse, a second release arrived, for a special pair of Tonewalker' shoes, to reduce cellulite, aid weight loss, trim and tone the legs, hips, bottom and abdomen.' You couldn't make it up.