Children are obese because of bone-idle parents
CHILDHOOD obesity is becoming a serious issue and we are lectured about how the poor can’t afford decent food like the rest of us. As a working-class woman, I know that it’s an easy task to walk into cut-price supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl and buy good-quality, cheap vegetables and meat to take home and cook a healthy meal. When will the do-gooders admit childhood obesity starts with bone-idle parents who have no idea how to cook a meal and no interest in learning how? It’s far easier to buy fast food every night and then complain you don’t have enough money to live on. Fruit and vegetables have never been so cheap, so let’s stop blaming obesity on a lack of money. It’s down to lifestyle choices.
SUE wHITFOrD, Coedpoeth, wrexham. HAVING returned from living abroad, my husband and I have been shocked to see the number of obese families in Britain. During a recent visit to the cinema, everyone else was eating. The young girls next to me shared a tub of popcorn and a container of chocolates, slurped down with large iced drinks. The couple behind had a tray of nachos with three dips and the lady in front of me ate a tuna sandwich. This veritable feast spoiled my enjoyment of the film due to the constant chewing, noisy rustling and obnoxious smells. I had to leave halfway through the film. On a day out at the seaside, every other visitor was walking along eating burgers, fish and chips, candy floss or ice cream. The U.S. used to be renowned for its super-sized citizens, but I’d suggest Britain now leads the way.
PATrICIA STEED, Steeton, w. Yorks.