Remember Fattypuffs and the Thinifers? André Maurois’ humorous children’s book of 1941 depicted a world divided between the jolly fatties and the vinegary, life-denying skinnies – and our sympathies were firmly on the side of the former. In an age of cheap food, however, we are not so sure. The World Health Organisation reckons that one in five people in the world can be categorised as obese.

In a documentary for Unreported World (28 April), reporter Sophie Morgan went to American Samoa in the Pacific Ocean, where 93 per cent of the population are clinically obese: the highest obesity ratio in the world. Samoa is one of the only places where life expectancy is falling.

It was all profoundly depressing. American Samoa, a US territory dominated by a military base, has an obesity and type 2 diabetes problem that sees the old burying their young. An undertaker showed us 3ft coffins designed to hold bodies weighing up to 35 stone – and sometimes they were too small.