RECENTLY we have been reporting on the shocking state of education in Oxford, with the city’s schools performing badly compared to most of England.

Now we learn that one in five Oxford 11-year-olds are classed as obese.

The rest of the county, much as in education, has better figures – literally, apparently.

Obesity is a serious issue and allied to the education attainment figures, we really have to question if we are fundamentally failing our children.

It is a cliche to say that children are our future.

But looking the future is beginning to look very bleak indeed.

We do not advocate a nanny state but we must all begin to question globally if we need to do more for our children.

In almost all cases excess weight can be tackled by two simple factors: the quality of what you eat and the exercise you do.

Parents and teachers owe it to our children to do all they can to ensure they enter adult life with healthy bodies and minds.

We cannot surely countenance a future where all our children can write is their shopping list of chrisps, chocclate and kola.