OBESITY NIGHTMARE

ANYONE who thinks the case about childhood obesity is overstated should digest this statistic: we now have a higher proportion of obese nine to 11-year-olds than in the U. S. — 20 per cent compared with 18 per cent.

We need to ask ourselves how this is happening: why are our children bigger than those in a country that’s famed for its supersize portions? And at what point do we grasp this problem as a national scandal?

More than that, it’s a tragedy for the children whose weight puts them at risk of ill health and unhappiness not just as youngsters, but as adults.