Mr Motivator says people take criticism about their weight ‘too personally’ if they are told to get in shape as he says Brits have ‘become lazy’

He rose to fame as the man who got the nation moving.

But Motivator believes people are now taking criticism about their weight “too personally”, even though levels of diabetes and obesity have “skyrocketed”.

The fitness fanatic, 71, who appeared on GMTV during the 1990s performing workout routines, said back then you could “poke” someone’s belly and tell them they needed to get fit.

But today people are too sensitive to their size and complain that they are embarrassed if they are told to get in shape, he said.

Speaking on the Loose Ends podcast, she said that in the age of body positivity everyone believes they have the right to “be whatever size they want.”

Born Derrick Evans and known for his jumpsuits and colorful spandex suits, Motivator said levels of diabetes and obesity have “skyrocketed” because Britons spend too much time in front of the television.

He said: “In those days you could say someone was fat if you wanted, no one took it that personally.”

‘You could poke someone in the gut and say ‘you’ve got to deal with it’, but we’re talking about the early ’90s.

‘Now, times have changed, you don’t do that because everyone should have the right to be whatever size they want.

“But I think my job is to tell you, ‘Listen, you can be a size 20 if you want, but you can be a size 20.'”

He said he’s always liked to “sugar coat it” and make getting fit “bright, colorful” and “fun.”

He added: ‘Our levels of obesity and diabetes in this country have skyrocketed.

“It has skyrocketed because people have become lazy, we spend too much time in front of the television, we don’t think about the fact that we are a wonderful specimen and we have to take care of it.”

“So my impulse now is to say, ‘Listen, I’m 71 years old, and as far as I’m concerned, I want to be the living example of someone who’s going uphill but gaining speed.’