ACKNOWLEDGING that being 5ft 9ins tall and weighing more than 17 stone was a major reason why he almost died from coronavirus, Boris Johnson is declaring a war on obesity.

He, therefore, has a lot of credibility to head a national weight loss campaign. So too, for opposite reasons, does Nicola Sturgeon, whose trim figure may be one reason she didn’t get coronavirus.

Scotland’s chief nursing officer, Fiona McQueen, would also be a good example. In 2018 she went on a diet and lost seven stone because, as she said: “As a nurse, I was setting a really bad example to my colleagues, patients and my children. How could I expect others to heed my advice when I didn’t myself?”

I’d like to see them take advantage of the heightened awareness of the dangers of obesity and to join fellow public figures in a Scottish weight loss campaign.

Allan Sutherland

Stonehaven