This character cannot be serious. You can't blame people for their personal weight gain? What, someone's shoving food down their throat?

My wife and I lost 55 and 65 lbs each respectively over the past year because we chose to eat right and exercise. I'm not trying to appear self-righteous or anything, it's just that, when I hear someone say something this ludicrous, it demands to be refuted. I don't blame the TV or my computer for my weight gain. I was the one eating. I was the one not exercising. I was the one who took the extra chocolate, simply because I wanted it.

My wife and I both feel so much better. We no longer have sleep apnea, we no longer snore and are better rested. We get our work done better, with more energy. We have more fun on our bicycles and other outdoor activities. She's had to reduce her blood pressure medication, and I've had to reduce my cholesterol medication, and avoided going on another medicine for acid reflux, which is also gone!

Tim, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Maggie from Oxford - SPOT ON!!! Yet another government
statement the general public can quote. "Oh, did you hear? Apparently it wasn' t the three chocolate bars and pint of lard i had for breakfast this morning that's making me fat; there aren't enough pedestrian crossings". Exercise is what you do above and beyond going to the shops. if you want to be healthy : Eat Less Run More. it is not rocket science. if you don't want to be healthy please tell the government this so they can stop wasting money trying to find a cure for fat people.

MM, Sydney,

"revolution in urban planning to encourage people to use cars less and public transport more."

How is this going to help people loose weight? Either they ride in their car or they ride in the bus.. The net difference in colories burnt is so minute to inconsequential.

If town planning is going to help obese people loose weight then cut down on public transport as well as cars to force people to walk. With obvious exceptions such as the elderly....

James , Melbourne, Australia

Perhaps the government could plan the flattening of Sheffield, then I'm sure a lot more of us would be happy to use our bikes like the Dutch. I would cycle everywhere if I didn't have a mile-long steep hill to get back home on! (disclaimer: obviously I love Sheffield's hills and wouldn't have them flattened because they give the city character. It would just be nice from a cycling point-of-view)
And my great-aunt used her bike to get around Oxford until she was 86 and a bit wobbly.

Jessica, Sheffield,

Ray that Ice cream shake sounds great I think I will have one also.
I have no problem with this becasue for the last 1 1/2 years I have been biking from Racine to Kenosha for work. It is just over 11 miles each way. And Sigrid I have been biking thru the winter. Now some days I have had to drive because of the poor conditions, or take the bus 2/3 the way home, but I have riden most of the days. Now in the summer I usally get to work in 50 minutes and some days during the winter it has been more like 90 minutes but I still make it.
What keeps most people from riding their bikes is the lack of trying and changing their mindsets about what they can do.
Biking under poor conditions take more concentration and effort and the willingness to get back up after you fall off your bike. Even with (sofar) a broken collar bone and 3 broken ribs).

Todd, Racine, WI

I agree. You cannot hold individuals responsible for their actions. It's just not fair. I know it's not my fault and I know it's not your fault as well.

Wow, I feel better. A giant size ice cream shake with nuts and extra chocolate, really sounds good. I'm going to wheel my self over to the refrigerator (my computer chair has wheels), right now!

Ray, Fort Wayne, USA

BRAVO, Maggie (Oxford)!!!

It's nonsense enough that Prof. James believes that "individuals are not responsible" for what they put in their own mouths. Ultimately, it is criminally dangerous to a free society when he suggests "The State" should decide for us how we live our lives to such an extent.

MY suggestion: have him live under such "controlled" conditions for a year or two - being told what and when to eat, sleep, drink, work, play, etc (...not that he would be "naive" enough to think HE could decide that for himself!) - and see what he thinks of his insidious "Nanny knows best what's best for his own good" prattle thereafter.

Ed Wallis, Washington, DC, USA

Oslo just lacks parking spaces so it is almost impossible to have a car if you live downtown. Nowhere to park outside your house/flat and nowhere to park outside work. Just like London I suppose. Only in the last 10 years or so have they increased the pedestrian areas and it is only in the city centre. Norwegians are naturally sporty people and they still take their kids out for long walks/skiingtrips every weekend. Norwegians prefer the atlethic look and fat people are often considered lazy (as they obvisouly move less and so do lesst). They eat less readymeals, chips and crisps. I had never seen anybody eat crisps for lunch until I moved to Britain.

htp, Llandudno, Wales/Norway

NONSENSE! I walk and bicycle (weather permitting) plenty every day, but I put my foot down when some supposed "expert" wants to TELL me what/when/where I need to go for exercise. Like Maggie said above, it is the individual's responsibility; take that away, and you are truly moving towards a "we'll tell you what's for your own good" Brave New World. Let Professor James first live under the constraints of his own suggestion for a few years, then let's see what he has to say. I say, NO THANK YOU!

Monika Reiner, Munich,

I agree wholeheartedly with this article. I no longer have a car - I have moved from a village where I was completely reliant on a car and utterly sedentary to a big city with a decent public transport system and I probably walk at least two miles a day as a matter of course. Because I can only buy what I can carry from the shops, and I don't buy processed food, it means that my family eats healthily and I get regular, weight bearing exercise. And yes, I do have school age children and I do work so I have time constraints but but be honest, the amount of time wasted trying to find a parking spot or finding oneself boxed in with double parking means that I am no more time poor than before ...while not exactly svelte, I am nowhere near obese and my children are as fit as butchers' dogs from being marched around mercilessly by their mother.

katie, Stockholm,

In the Netherlands, bikes work for transport. Here in the United States where we often live 30-45 minutes drive or more from work in bedroom communities well beyond the jobs in the cities, this is impossible. We have a terrible rail system which nobody uses and everyone drives everywhere. It isn't even safe to walk outside of some subdivisions because they're located on dangerous highways. Walking to the store for groceries is inconceivable. So we all get fatter and fatter. Our climate in the Northern US where I live is also a huge detriment. We have had 70 inches of snow this year and below zero F. temperatures. Who wants to walk in that? To get to a YMCA where there's a track is a 15 minute drive which is also a huge inconvenience in a busy day. Walking 90 minutes a day is wishful thinking, I fear. It's really sad how we live today. I hate it, frankly.

Sigrid, Waukesha, WI USA

Of course, the government is obfuscating the issues.

First off, obesity isn't a drain on the NHS - a recent study shows that, on average, smokers and the obese cost the NHS less than their skinny, healthy counterparts, because they don't live as long.

So why the govt hoo-har? Well, to try to deny health care for those who've already paid for it - because their health policies \ budgeting is unsustainable in the long term.

W Smith, Manchester,

In the Netherlands everyone has a bike, children cycle to school, they bring lunch from home but sweets and crisps are forbidden. OK, the country is flat as a pancake but the Dutch hop on their bikes off to the supermarket until well into their seventies.

Carolina, Rotterdam,

If only I could use public transport but Hampshire County Council have reduced our bus service to almost nothing with only college busses running and nothing on weekends or college holidays!!

John Evans, Alton, Hampshire

“Blaming individuals for their personal vulnerability to weight gain is no longer acceptable..."

Ridiculous, just another manifestation of the "blameless" society we live in. "It's not my fault I'm obese. It's the food manufacturers, the government, the supermarkets... Boo hoo, don't blame me." Please! A 150g or 300kg person doesn't have someone else force-feeding them. What goes in your mouth is your decision. If you make bad decisions and get fat, it's your fault. Get over it and when you finally stop blaming everyone else, you'll do something about it.

Well, the only people who are relatively blameless are the 30% of British children who are overweight. They can blame their parents and their bad decisions.

Maggie, Oxford,