Forgive me for being stereotypical but the English do not live in a society that encourages knowledge of ones health and body. Only now has our nation, with the help of government campaigns, advertising and health warnings, acknowledged the rise in obesity so that we are finally encouraged to take charge of our own health.

It is only when you visit health spas such as La Réserve in Geneva, that you realise how much you have neglected yourself. Myself and my body have finally become friends and we now have an understanding of each other; La Réserve Hotel and Spa has been our ‘counselor’.

La Réserve is set in the southwest of Switzerland between the Alps and the Jura mountain range. Geneva is close by, overflowing with history, museums, beautiful architecture, philosophers, writers, and thoughtfully laid streets making this a perfect retreat to explore, rejuvenate and pay homage to your body. The hotel itself is set in 10 acres of plush landscaped gardens. The interior is designed around a theme of a modern African game reserve lodge, mirroring the name of the hotel. Designed by Jacques Garcia, curiosities such as parrots nestling in lampshades, elephant statues and animal prints throughout make La Réserve something completely different. The modern design however does not make the rooms feel cold and uncomfortable; they give a sense of being homely but nicely styled.

La Réserve boasts a tunnel leading to a private beach on the shores of Lake Geneva, together with a mooring for up to 18 boats. For guests there is a Venetian motorboat transporting you in style to the city to explore. If in the unlikely event you want a break from the spa treatments available at La Réserve, windsurfing, waterskiing, catamarans and sailing boats can be used on the clear waters.

Eating at the reserve could not be finer. Le Tsé Fung’s Chinese cuisine and stunning interior is matched by first class service, while Le Loti, a Mediterranean restaurant is the perfect place to relax in the evenings and listen to the resident DJ (I know what your thinking but it has nothing in common with European resorts).

Une Autre Histiore is La Reserve’s spa and features 17 treatment rooms, indoor and outdoor pools complete with underwater music, saunas, steam rooms, a fully equipped gym, professional and knowledgeable staff and between treatments guest can relax in the spa bar which offers organic and healthier alternatives to the scrumptious restaurants. Generally the whole spa is so relaxed; you wander around in your robe and slippers, (please note at the end of my trip I was extremely reluctant to change back into the constraints of my normal clothes) and the spa bar has a selection of nuts, dried fruits, herbal teas and herbed water for any aliments.

The spa is the piece de resistance. Alone the hotel is stunning, comfortable and well worth a stay but the spa adds a purpose to your visit, a reason and an excuse to treat yourself. My whole reason for the visit (I quite forgot I had to work) was to sample the age prevention program they offer at the spa, an innovative new programmed introduced in July 2005. The program consists of assessments with highly trained physiotherapists, osteopaths, acupuncturists, naturopathists, functional medicine and clinical nutritionists.

The complete lifestyle assessment, skin analysis, fitness, structural and body composition analysis enables them to give you a biological age. This allows you to understand the stresses and habits that will shorten your life span. When I first learned of this program I panicked. We all think we are a little overweight, do too little exercise and cannot resist a Kentucky Fried Chicken or chocolate biscuit. I knew it would be a wake up call and really hammer home what my lifestyle was doing to my body. I thought if the results gave me a biological age higher than 50 years I wouldn’t add it to this article, but luckily for you and your curiosity it was in fact 26.5 (my chronological age is 24). Not bad. But this does not mean I can sit back and help myself to another biccy while cuddling my KFC family bucket. All the data, analysis and friendly chats produced a comprehensive, personalized and usable report giving advice and practical changes to increase my life expectancy, vitality and decrease my biological age. I have pages of diet and nutrition advice from Warren Kinder, the fantastic health director at the spa. He has expertise and qualifications longer than my arm. The report doesn’t just tell you ‘eat less fat’, ‘eat more vegetables’ or ‘stop being fat’ it has a precise list telling you what vitamins you can increase, the effects of them and what products they are found in. It contains exercise advice that can be done at home and also provides changes that you can make to your lifestyle, for example by increasing social support you can reduce stress.

I am of course making the whole affair sound a little clinical, but it wasn’t just a strict timetable of assessment, meeting with personal trainers and generally regretting how naughty you have been. The tailor made schedule includes lots of lovely pampering sessions featuring acupuncture, massages, balneotherapy, Bain du Lait, seaweed wraps and more. All of theses are negotiation gifts to win over your body’s affection once more. It has been a rocky relationship but I think finally myself and my body are working together to live longer.