If people smoke, they will look at their fingernails and teeth and realise the damage. If they are overweight, they may dislike their body shape and avoid mirrors to avoid facing up to reality.

It is often only when people are faced with the harsh physical reality of their lifestyle that they are keen to change. The problem is, once it reaches that stage, it could be too late.

A new computer programme aims to combat that problem by showing people the potential effects of their actions in plenty of time.

The software was developed in America, to be used as part of health awareness promotion activities.

It is generally used in the UK for smoking cessation courses, to encourage people to stop by showing them what they could look like if they kept up the habit.

Recently, however, Derbyshire Sport has taken the software on the road around the county as part of its campaign encouraging healthy lifestyle choices.

Angela Carter, from Derbyshire Sport, said it had proved useful.
She said: "People seem to respond quite well to the visual effect of it. Whether it has long-term effect or not, a lot of people go away saying I must stop smoking, or I must lose weight. It's a scare tactic.

It's mostly about awareness, showing people the possible outcome of their actions. It hopefully makes people see they can avoid it by leading a healthy lifestyle."

Once a photograph is uploaded, the software has the ability to age the subject up to the age of 72. It can also add weight virtually until the person looks obese, demonstrate the long term effects of smoking on the skin and show the risks of spending hours sunbathing.

At 22, I had never really considered what I would look like when I got older.

At the moment I class myself as fairly healthy. I do not smoke, I exercise, and as a vegetarian I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables.
After looking 50 years into the future, I intend to up my efforts on staying healthy.

Angela was keen to state the software can act only as a guide, which shows the possible outcome of current behaviour.


She said: "Most people know the effects bad lifestyle can have on them but it shocks them when they see it.

It makes people want to do something so they don't look like their pictures. But it's important to have a healthy lifestyle for the long term benefits. We want people to be active but also it can be fun. It's about enjoying life and staying healthy. People can do little things to change their lifestyle. It doesn't have to be a full-blown regime you don't enjoy. It's about little changes and trying to make people do a bit more activity."