Playtime is the fun way to end child obesity

THE inexorable rise in childhood obesity is alarming (Mail). If not addressed, it will put additional strain on the overstretched NHS.

This is not caused by the pandemic and over-eating. It’s been increasing steadily for years as children do less and less exercise.

They are driven to and from school when the majority can and should walk. When I went to school in the 1960s, it was unheard of for a child to arrive by car.

During the lunch break, the boys would be in the playground kicking a ball. After school, the local park would be full of children playing sport. Today, when I walk through that park, it’s deserted, except for the odd dog walker.

I have to admit my childhood diet wasn’t the best — just ask the dentist — but I never carried an ounce of spare fat because I’d burn off the calories.

I’d stuff myself with a Wagon Wheels, quarter pounds of pineapple chunks, slab of toffee, Love Hearts and a sherbet fountain. This dietitian’s nightmare was washed down with dandelion and burdock pop. What a glutton!

Lockdown restrictions didn’t prevent any of us from taking daily exercise. An excess of fast food has exacerbated the problem of obesity, but the key to fit and healthy children, physically and mentally, is regular exercise.

Less time should be spent on sedentary activities, such as playing computer games and messaging on their mobile phones.

PETER HENRICK, Birmingham. FAT camps are a good idea for obese children. Many health issues are caused by being overweight.

But parents have to take responsibility for their children’s weight. They are the ones who feed them and hand out pocket money for snacks and fizzy drinks.

ALAN WATTS, address supplied.

Hanging on the phone

LIKE MONEY Mail deputy editor Ben Wilkinson, I’ve been trying to contact the HMRC. If it had only taken a couple of hours, I’d have been grateful.

I’ve been phoning for weeks and have been passed around from one department to another.

What usually happens is that my call is transferred and then they hang up on me. It would be easier to hold a seance and contact the dead.

TIM JAMES, Penarth, South Glamorgan. IF BEN Wilkinson thinks a twohour wait to speak to someone at HMRC is bad that’s nothing compared to dealing with the Probate Office.

I applied for probate for my late wife in July and apart from receipt of my application being acknowledged, I’ve heard nothing.

Trying to contact them is futile because they don’t answer the phone.

JEFFREY WILKINSON, Hitchin, Herts.

Driven mad

WHY is calling the HMRC so taxing? Try contacting the DVLA, where you can’t speak to anyone.

I sent off my HGV licence for renewal in April and am still waiting. If I phone, there is always a recorded message saying they are ‘experiencing a high volume of calls’ and advising me to go on the website.

However, I haven’t been sent a code number to track the progress of my licence online. Luckily, due to a special dispensation, I can still drive or the country would be yet another lorry driver short.

EDMUND LINDSAY, High Wycombe, Bucks.

Off the rails

AND so another Government plan is turned on its head. No surprise here since the suspicion in Yorkshire for some months has been that HS2 would not survive the split after Birmingham.

How can they reconcile this decision with spending billions to tear up the Home Counties, which are more than adequately served by trains, agitating traditional Conservative voters?

Not only has the Government failed to address the North/South divide, it has created an East/ West divide.

HS2 will reduce the journey time from London to Birmingham by about 20 minutes. An Eastern leg would have seen a reduction between Birmingham and Leeds and further North by 70 minutes.

But the loss of HS2 to Leeds is not the most significant issue. Of more importance to the North is decent services from Liverpool to Hull and Sheffield to Newcastle.

ROY DILCOCK, Leeds. WHY stop at cancelling part of this vanity project? Scrap the whole HS2 scheme and spend the money on the NHS.

DAVID HALE, Yeovil, Somerset.

Can’t bank on any help

WHY do banks bother having a helpline? After giving all my details, I am advised to go to my ‘local’ branch, which is miles away, so they can phone the helpline.

The most annoying part of it is the recorded message: ‘Glad we could help you, enjoy the rest of your day.’

Well no, you haven’t helped me, but have only added to an already stressful situation, so I will not be enjoying the rest of my day.

MAGGIE NUNN, Bridport, Dorset. I SYMPATHISE with Sarah Vine and her difficulties in getting a tradesman to fix her broken washing machine. I’ve been waiting a fortnight for Sky to mend my phone/internet line.

I’ve had to make so many expensive mobile phone calls and all I get are emails asking ‘How are we doing?’ when they are doing nothing.

MARION CLEGG, Kent.

Wipe out waste

I’M GLAD that wet wipes could be banned (Mail).

We all need to do as much as we can to protect the environment. I don’t buy bottled water, never leave the tap running when I brush my teeth, use public transport and go litter-picking in the hedgerows near where I live.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, this is only a token, but if everyone does their bit, collectively we’d make a big difference.

MICHAEL SMITH, Chatham, Kent.

NHS in crisis . . . again

HURRAH for Professor Angus Dalgleish and his condemnation of ‘shroud-waving’ to compel the Government to inject yet more money into the NHS (Mail).

I am fed up with warnings about an NHS crisis. It’s so depressing that I live in fear of getting ill and having to go to hospital.

This scare campaign to keep people away from hospitals will mostly affect those who do not abuse the NHS. People who go to A&E with a broken fingernail will no doubt continue to do so.

Pumping more money into the NHS is not the answer.

There is a huge problem with waste — have you ever tried to return medical equipment to a hospital? — and there are too many highly paid managers and not enough medical staff.

The most important quality in a nurse is to be caring and you don’t need a degree for that.

If there was a joined up care system, many hospital beds could be freed up.

LESLEY GUNN, Harpenden, Herts.