Three-quarters of the sugar we eat is consumed indirectly: sucrose is a hidden but ubiquitous additive even in savoury foods, enhancing palatability and what the food industry calls 'good go-away'.
Parents faced with a shortage of time and the formidable pester power of children, are easy prey to the powerful sugar lobby and its twin, the fast food and drink industry. We all need to become dedicated sugar-busters.
Ron Noon
Liverpool John Moores University
Will Hutton speaks of obese people as victims of modern society, but I think this is too easy. Despite pressures of modern life, one can make the effort to control diet and exercise: it just requires discipline. In North America and Britain, a large number of people are over-indulgent and lazy in their eating and leisure habits. Huge servings at US restaurants are legendary.
In Switzerland, where I live, and in neighbouring France, one does not see the abundance of overweight people Will Hutton refers to. Europeans tend to take the question of healthy eating more seriously, despite hectic Western lifestyles. Are we really condemned to eat junk food? We can wake up a bit earlier to prepare a healthy sandwich or salad for lunch. We can resist sedentary lifestyles. We can turn off the TV and go for a walk or to the gym. We can teach our children to cook healthily.
Instead of condemning 'great economic and social forces' for generating obesity, we need to take more control of our own lives.
Anne Hobson
Geneva
Will Hutton has just discovered that food has been made into a commodity and that people have no control over their time. That's capitalism, the system Hutton has defended on the grounds that there is no alternative. He should acknowledge the consequences of the premises he defends, or question the premises.
David Murray
London NW8
