I've thought as much myself, although you'd still have fat people, only where there is starvation do you not get any. As for the class element, those with ASBO's seem to be mainly, thin.

B.Adu , London, UK

I don't see going to the gym a chore, I see it as fun - I meet my friends there, we do a class together - we chat. I am size 8-10 and most of the women in my aerobics class are slimmer than me.

I don't LIKE chocolate, cakes and biscuits, I don't have a sweet tooth - I don't think eating fresh fruit and vegetables and cooking meals from scratch is a chore, it is enjoyable for all the family.

Stop making the lowest common denominator the norm - acknowledge that a bit of self-discipline can make the difference - who knows once you start to see a difference in the wobbly bits you might start to enjoy it.

Cassius, London,

I am sorry, Jaice, but i do not agree with you.
I am Italian, and most italian mothers work and do not spend their life cooking at home, that's a very old stereotype, like the english women closing their eyes and thinking about England, during sex.
Since I was 14, when i returned home, i would cook my own steak and pasta, because my mother was working full time.
I never saw an obese child in Italy, where did you get the 30% number, in your dreams?
Obesity is caused by lazy parents who do not train their children what to eat and when.

GUY, DENVER, CO

Sally, 100 years ago no one needed sports fields or swimming pools to stay healthy.

Exercise should be built into your daily routine or it's unlikely to work - yes that means leaving the car at home and walking.

Thomas Maxwell, Redhill, UK

We're lucky enough to live in France with our three children. While I'm sure Janice's research into French eating habits is impeccable, it's interesting that there is only one fast food outlet within a 20 mile radius of us (a forever empty McDonald's) and not a single fat kid in their playground.

Not to be preachy, but surely any parent can simply outlaw fast food and cooking good meals doesn't have to be the fag that Janice describes: get the kids involved, they love cooking. One last thought, it would be more than my life is worth to try and deprive the kids of their sweets, but not allowing fizzy drinks over the threshold not only means they tend to drink water or OJ instead, but they aren't bouncing off the walls on the sugar and caffiene rush either.

Martin Howard, Lot et Garonne , France

Nature never intended families to live in big cities, and have food delivered to them. They should be out in the fields, chasing after the food.

DAVID VINTER, Louth, Lincs., uk.

"The corporate greed that sees playing fields sold off and swimming pools bulldozed, particularly of course, outdoor swimming pools. "

It was government and local government that sold off land. Can't blame it on corporate greed burt rather on government deceit and incompetence.

Neil Murphy, cromer,

One way of preventing children from getting overweight is to give them fixed portion meals, no second helpings of anything except vegetables and fruit. Far too many parents act like short-order cooks instead members of the family at mealtimes. Never ask children if they are hungry, but give them their meals at regular intervals. Don't ask them what they want to eat - you're the parent, it's your job to decide what your children eat.
Many parents I know constantly offer their children food and drinks. It seems to be a modern way of showing affection, negating boredom, keeping them quiet and so on. We don't spend enough time with our children, and then overfeed them when we're home. Food is no substitute for real parenting.

Sarah N., London,

Many of Janice's points are valid, but not all. I don't remember many obese kids when I was at school in the post-war austerity era. But we certainly had water, hoovers and public transport. Among the main things we didn't have were fast food and cars. School dinners were grim but not, as I recall, high in fat, and mum always cooked a proper meal, with fresh -if basic - ingredients in the evening.

Cars are to blame for many modern evils, and motoring should be more expensive. Janice seems to think it's a chore to make a short trip on foot - if she'd try it sometime she might find she enjoys the exercise and mingling with real people, instead of coping with traffic and parking problems.

Barry, Wallington, UK

as you mentioned, as technology have been developing constantly , stationary of person is increasing .in that connection , person's muscles can't use calories for his or her body.by that , these calories are stored in our body.this stuation can lead to emerge collestrol risk. at the same time , this stuation is important risk for obesity.because as possible as we can do sport prugencies such as once two day .besides this , we should not give everything to hands of technology .that is to say we ougt to reverse this trend .

tevfik, ankara , turkey

My kids say that they prefer today's school meals to the way they were before Jamie Oliver. Now they are interesting - before they were covered in a patina of grease.

My oldest went to a supermarket we do not usually visit to buy cat litter and she said that there were three aisles with pasta products. What chance being slim for shoppers in that place?

At the same time supermarkets now sell such a range of healthy foods, such as soups. fruit, veg and ready cooked veg dishes that eating healthily has never been easier.

If we had more parks and open spaces perhaps walking and playing in the open would be an option available to those crammed into tiny flats and houses without gardens.

er, Croydon, England

The key to avoidance of the displacement activity which much routine eating has become is to fill out a balanced lifestyle with activities which in themselves take away opportunity for distraction eating.

Rather than doing exercise as such (unless for social interaction), there are many everyday ways of using energy. Stairs, walking and carrying not only use energy but help avoid muscle atrophy. A folding bicycle will fit into the tiniest apartment.

Simple self-prepared meals eaten slowly can be titillating to the most jaded of taste buds when contrasted with nothing as the alternative or a detox soup’n’veg day.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

As per WHO research, obesity shall be the most silent killer disease in the days to come. It leaves behind a trail of other health disorders like diabities, heart problems, CAD etc. We are paying a very heavy price. Especially our kids and younger generation are getting prone to many middle-age ailments, due to early obesity and unhealthy food habits.
Why are our kids and youngsters growing fat and bulky in their pre-teen years ?
1.Undoubtedly excssive consumption of junk food like Burgers, Pizzas, doughnuts, desserts, ice creams,and fizzy cola drinks add much more calories to their bodies than being consumed by their metabolic activities.
2.Add on to this, is the sedentary life styles.Few decades back, kids would prefer playing outdoor games, doing physical activities and spending more time in the lap of nature and its environment. But, kids of generation next are more apt and glued to computers, i-pods, play stations and cyber gizmos with least mobility.
It's time to rethink??

sandy, New Delhi, India

People like you, (articles like yours), make me despair...full of excuses for their own lacks and passing the buck of responsibility somewhere else. Grow up and take responsibility for yourself and any children you might have and stop blaming society and modern life for any lack of self control. If people are fat, they're fat because of the life choices they make, if their children are fat, they're fat because parents let them be. None of my friends are fat, neither are their children, but it is because of the choices they make and the effort that they make on behalf of their own well being and that of their children. People don't walk short distances not because they can afford the petrol, but because they ARE, in fact, lazy, they make that choice. You can dress it up as much as you like in words, ie it's more convenient, saves times, I can afford it. The bottom line is laziness and the decision that good health and appropriate weight are not important enough priorities in life.

Tessa Jane Webster, Roma, Italy

could not the production of "fizzy" drinks be curtailed due to their co2 content ? I presume, maybe wrongly, that the gas released every time one of the many millions of cans and bottles is opened is artificialy manufactured co2. Without the fizz kids may go off these sugary cocktails.
I also believe " work" is the answer to many of our ills . it makes us fit, burns energy in a productive way, releases happy hormones and gives us a sense of purpose,especially if done as a group activity.

jonathan charles gale, lymington, england

no were are educated to be fat,from cradle to grave intv land,ask a mother the first time tv entertained their child.Today its a brave person who stands up to the new alpha woma.

michael joseph heavey, cahersiveen, ireland

The truth is that people are so tired at the end of the day that they're not going to spend another three hours on their feet cooking a nutritious meal. There's also the problem of depression. If you have nothing to look forward to, ( low pay affording very little), food serves as a comforter. Let's face it, the quaility of life was a lot better 30 years ago, with communities sharing more and people having more time for each other and diet was also better. We need to change our society if we are to change people's attitude to food.

Judy , Liverpool, england

The traditional Japanese diet of fish, rice, veggies and soup has also taken an almost fatal hit from the fast food industry. I'm appalled at the stuff most people eat, no kidding Japan must have one of the worst diets in the developed world.
Most people live on a conbination of supermarket packed meals, instant noodles and McDonalds.

Dave, tokyo, Japan

Have you seen a fat bookseller? Neither have I. And I'll tell you something, they have huge appetites.
Physical work is the key, not bans or taxes on junk food.
Ban escalators or lifts (ok ok except for the disabled), or better charge for each ride up or now. Those who take the lift just one floor up or down will have to pay the most.

may, london,

I am English, but I spent the last year living in a town in the mountains of Guatemala with a largely indigenous Mayan population. There are hardly any fat children there, and very few fat men (under the age of 30). Most of the men work in physical jobs, construction or agriculture. There is also not a lot of money, and people largely consume fresh produce that is produced on surrounding farms. Most people under 30 also have excellent teeth, most likely due to not consuming fizzy drinks etc.

I read a Terence McKenna book where he asserted that the most dangerous substance to hit the West is not heroin, cocaine, LSD, etc, but sugar. I don't see why such harmful products should not be banned. After all, one line of cocaine doesn't instantly kill you, but we choose to make it illegal, isn't the same equally true of Big Macs, Krispy Kreme donuts, and Coca-Cola? Maybe shops should not be allowed to sell junk food/fizzy drinks to children under 16.

Jason Kennedy, antigua, guatemala

One of the causes of obesity is greed: not for food but for land.

The corporate greed that sees playing fields sold off and swimming pools bulldozed, particularly of course, outdoor swimming pools.
Central government has done nothing to protect either: school playing fields continue to disappear and Sport England have not given a single grant to an outdoor pool in the last decade.

Local councils then look at the message that central govt is sending out and respond in kind: how easy it is to save money by closing a pool or two, or by falling back on the excuse that leisure provision is not a statutory part of a council's duties.

Inevitably this backfires: money "saved" by closing pools and selling fields will be spent three times over on the ill health caused by obesity, diabetes, heart failure and so on. Authorities both local and central should act now to reverse this trend.

Sally Wainman, Ipswich, Suffolk, England