"The ads are continuous and unavoidable. Pictures of burgers, chips, pizza and milkshakes flash up on the screen for a couple of seconds. Then, to make it even worse, the ad gives you directions to the takeaway. It makes me want fast-food. It has made me go and buy it, which really defeats the purpose of going to the gym, " according to member Chris O'Driscoll.

O'Driscoll said the constant onslaught of fast-food imagery is a hot topic of discussion among many gym patrons, and he plans to complain to management.

"People go to the gym to try and get in shape. The last thing they need is fast-food images forced on them. If it was images of salads and orange juice then it would be okay, but it's not.

Don't forget that a lot of people go to the gym on the advice of their doctors because they urgently need to lose weight to save their health, " he added.

Another gym member, James Keenan, added: "It's a gym.

These ads are ridiculous."

A spokesman for Total Fitness in Sandyford said: "I'm a fitness professional myself and everything in moderation is okay.

"I eat fish and chips myself. There are no plans that I've heard of to pull the ads." Total Fitness is a UK chain. They have three gyms in the Republic, all based in Dublin.

"I think a gym should have a level of responsibility about things like this. Maybe next they'll start advertising cigarettes. They market themselves as a health club focused on the total well-being, so these ads are a total contradiction. I think it's very irresponsible of them, " O'Driscoll added.