Pancake Day is probably wrong time to mention growing global obesity epidemic...

According to a major new study, published in the prestigious Lancet medical journal, about four out of ten children aged ten to 14 and six out of ten adults in the world are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2050.

Professor Emmanuela Gakidou, of the University of Washington in the US, who led the research, said that the “unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure”.

It's probably fine to have a pancake if you take part in a race first (Picture: Carl Court) | Getty Images

The Scotsman has long called for efforts to turn Scotland into a ‘sporting nation’, lauding the benefits of exercise as a “miracle cure” for many conditions, both mental and physical. But the temptations of high-calorie food, be it gourmet or cheap, and a comfortable couch can be hard to resist.

Somehow excuses to put off kickstarting a new healthy lifestyle until tomorrow keep cropping up. Today, for example, is Pancake Day, aka Shrove Tuesday. And we wouldn’t want to miss out on that now, would we? But perhaps, whether religious or not, we could also at least try to give the abstemious traditions of Lent a go too.