Rising levels of obesity are a major concern both here in Bradford and the country as a whole.

There is no doubt that people who are excessively overweight are putting their health at risk while, at the same time, treating conditions caused by obesity puts a huge strain on the NHS.

With that in mind, helping individuals to lose excess pounds is obviously beneficial.

But surely it is better to stop them putting the weight on in the first place and encouraging youngsters to be more active is one way of doing this.

So it is pleasing to see Bradford leading the way when it comes to getting children walking to primary schools – with six out of ten children doing so under their own steam compared to a national average of five out of ten.

This comes as a bit of a surprise, though, considering that the district does not usually do well in obesity tables and that our roads are still clogged with parents dropping children off at school during term time.

That would suggest much more can be done in this regard but that is unlikely to happen until the school system is sorted out and children can walk to local schools which offer the same opportunities as schools with better reputations further from home.

Sadly it is a hope that seems doomed to failure while the Council persists with its plans for super-sized schools rather than smaller, more local facilities.