TAX will not stop people eating sugar and salt. What we are in the main discussing is people who are overweight and obese. Let’s face it, if you eat less of any good food, you will lose weight and be all the healthier for it.

So ban dinner plates and replace with tea plates, and no second helpings. I have a relative, who at age of 17, weighed 16 stones. She began a diet and lost eight stones in 12 weeks, and has kept every ounce off for years since. She also banned snacking and sweets. It takes some doing but is worth it.

I know folks who buy two lots of fish and chips for themselves, and eat them all together in a few minutes.

I recall a holiday in America, when standing beside a boy of eight or nine who produced a two pint bottle of coke and finished it in no time. Makes you think, does it not?

In Houghton le Spring, at the last count, we had eight cafes and fast food joints in a row on the high street, and more further on. That is where the damage is done.

Many amateur sports clubs are closing because they cannot raise people to participate. Watching the television is now the preferred leisure activity.

So Boris, get on your bike and show us what can be done!

Allan Wilkinson, Houghton le Spring

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