ANOTHER report has come out stating that up to nearly 25 per cent of primary schoolchildren aged 11 are fat (obese) and that one of the primary causes is deprivation (Echo, Apr 27).

I and my sister were brought up by our mother on her own after the Second World War.

We moved around the country with no home to call our own, but she managed to keep a roof over our head and feed us somehow with no state benefits whatsoever. We did not feel deprived although by today’s standards we would be classed as below the poverty line.

We were happy as we could be and most importantly we were not fat because what we ate was healthy.

I also remember the squalor of the various slums we encountered during the 1940 and 1950s – have you ever seen any fat children in pictures of these?

Why do the same old clichés keep being brought out to cover the basic fact that so many people are lazy and will not take responsibility for their lifestyle, expecting others to put things right? Fat parents bring up fat children. Until individuals actually control their lives in a responsible manner no amount of reports, propaganda or excuses will make the slightest difference.

So let’s not hear any more of these lame excuses, including “fresh fruit and veg is too expensive”. There’s never been so much choice or ways of eating or living a healthy life. There is talk of deprivation but it does not stop the huge consumption of ready meals and junk fast food.

M Hawkins, Langley Park, Durham