By. Sophie Borland. PUBLISHED:. 19:52 EST, 11 March 2013. |. UPDATED:. 20:28 EST, 11 March 2013. Patients who go to the gym and eat their five-a-day should be able to queue-jump NHS waiting lists, a think-tank  has suggested. Those who can prove their lifestyles are healthy would be given priority for all non-emergency appointments, operations and treatment, it said. The think-tank Demos also wants patients on benefits to be given extra cash if they take exercise and eat a balanced diet. Patients should be able to dodge the waiting room queue if they eat their five-a-day a think-tank has suggested. In a report today, it makes a number of controversial recommendations to encourage the public to take responsibility for their own health. The authors point out that the current system is unfair, as patients who don’t make any attempt to be healthy are more likely to need the NHS’s scarce resources. Instead, the think-tank wants  to encourage the public to take regular exercise and eat more fruit and  vegetables by rewarding them for doing so. One suggestion is to allow patients to earn points by going to the gym or buying certain healthy foods at the supermarket. These could then be used by doctors to assess whether they deserved priority treatment on the NHS. Another is to reward patients on benefits with cash top-ups if they could prove they had been to the gym or bought fruit and veg. The think-tank says the Government must take a more radical approach to tackling the obesity epidemic. A quarter of adults are obese although this proportion is expected to double by 2050. Figures also show that the NHS spends an estimated £5.1billion a year on conditions caused by being overweight or obese, such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Patients on benefits to be given extra cash if they take exercise it was also recommended in the think-tank report. Max Wind-Cowie, author of the report, said: ‘These proposals are about more than just saving money; they are about helping people make informed decisions and take greater personal and collective responsibility – an attitude that has become even more salient now that there is less in the coffers. ‘Government and the private sector should adopt an enabling and pro-active approach to supporting individuals, families and communities into doing the right thing and taking more responsibility. ‘It is no longer enough to simply step back and assume people will fill the gap. ‘Polling has consistently shown this view strikes a chord with the general public, and these nudge-plus proposals offer some practical idea of how we could see it in action.’ The Government has been criticised for failing to do enough to tackle obesity with the likes of TV chef Jamie Oliver describing policies as ‘utterly inadequate’. Other campaigners have accused ministers of ‘cosying up’ to the food industry by allowing them to set their own rules to limit salt, sugar and fat.

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Experts suggest system is unfair and recommend NHS 'points' for treatment. A quarter of adults are obese and numbers are expected to double by 2050.

By. Chris Pleasance for MailOnline. Germany is suing one of Switzerland's largest banks for millions of Euros that went missing during the reunification of East and West Germany. Bank Julius Bar has confirmed it is being sued for 91million Euros (£65million) by Berlin over claims a lender it took over allowed money to be withdrawn illegally. Germany claims that Rudolfine Steindling, who was the head of East German trading company Novum from 1973, stashed charges levied against West German firms in Swiss bank accounts. Julius Bar, one of Switzerland's largest banks, is being sued by Germany for 91million Euros it claims were illegally withdrawn as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. After the Berlin wall fell in 1989, Germany claims Steindling withdrew cash she had no right to, and says the Swiss banks did nothing to stop her. The German lawsuit claims that Cantrade, a bank bought by Julius Bar in 2005, was one of the banks invloved, according toThe Local. Spokesman Jan Vonder Mühll said shareholders had been told of the lawsuit in its last earnings report, adding: 'The bank denies the claim and has taken measures to protect its interests.' Vonder Muhll insisted that Switzerland's largest bank UBS, which sold Cantrade to Julius Bar, is responsible for answering the lawsuit. Rudolfine Steindling, a communist in charge of an East German trading company, stashed charges levied against West German firms in Swiss banks, then withdrew the cash as the Berlin Wall fell (pictured) Since East and West Germany were reunified in 1990, the country has launched dozens of lawsuits in various jurisdictions to try to recover money stashed by the former regime. German lawyers have already successfully sued another Swiss bank, a branch of Bank Austria which is now part of Italy's UniCredit, for 254million Euros ($337million). Steindling, who died in Israel in 2012, never revealed what she had done with the money.

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Germany suing Swiss bank over money that went missing as Berlin Wall fell. Claims bank did nothing to stop head of trading company withdrawing cash. Government has successfully sued another Swiss bank for 254million Euros.

By. Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent. Learning from others: Chimps learn how to peel and break into fruit from watching others, scientists found. It is not just humans who are fascinated by watching others cook – chimps also pick up tips on how to prepare food. A study found that just as people learn new cookery techniques by watching celebrity chefs, chimps learn how to crack and peel fruit by studying their companions. Researcher Bruce Rawlings said: ‘It is almost like they are watching the top chef and picking up information.’ Learning from others is an important part of building up cultural traditions – an ability thought of as being fundamentally human. However, the Portsmouth University research suggests that it may actually date back more than six million years, to the time when chimps and humans shared a common ancestor. The researchers videoed three groups of chimps as they were fed hard-shelled fruit in a Zambian wildlife orphanage. The creatures used six different techniques to access the fruit’s flesh, including cracking two fruits together, banging the fruit on the ground and taking a small bite to get the peeling process started. The favoured techniques differed across the groups. For instance, the banging two fruits together was used by two of the groups but not a third. Each group contained members from around Africa, meaning their behaviour couldn’ t be explained by genetics. And as the various groups couldn’t see each other and they weren’t taught how to eat the fruit by their keepers, it is thought that they were learning through observing others – a key part of establishing cultural traditions and differences. Mr Rawlings, a psychologist, said: ‘Culture is a hallmark of the human species. Watch and learn: Humans learn how to cook from watching celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver, pictured. It seems the technique can also be observed in chimps linking the species. ‘As humans we might learn the best way to crack a nut or stone a peach form watching someone lese and it appears chimpanzees learn how to handle their food in similar ways.’ The study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, also revealed that some of the chimps stockpiled peeled fruit to eat later. The self-control and mental ‘time-travel’ involved in planning a future meal suggest the creatures are capable of complex thought.

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Chimps learn about preparing fruit from watching friends, study shows. Researchers from Portsmouth University videoed the chimps. Showed them picking up different techniques and learning from others.