Tubby toddlers

Research has shown that overweight parents, who lead sedentary lifestyles, tend to have children who follow in their heavy footsteps. This is especially true for younger children, whose worlds are more regulated by mum and dad. If you’re a parent who whisks around in training shoes, your children are more likely to follow your good example. It’s been shown that 4-7 year old children of active mothers were twice as likely to be active as children of inactive mothers; for children with active fathers, there was a 3.5 fold increase in the likelihood of activity.

Television and video games also take the blame

Studies in the USA have shown a 2% increase in the prevalence of obesity for each additional hour of TV viewing. TV stops kids playing the sort of physical games which burn calories, and children might munch high-fat snacks as they view their favourite cartoons. Added to which, adverts for food can affect what you put in the shopping trolley.

When it comes to the Teletubbies

This popular pre-school programme has been damned, recently, by a nutrition forum in Australia, because it’s giving children the idea that fat is jolly. The criticism comes just as the BBC announced the release of a Teletubbies fitness video, later this year. But getting youngsters to dance, stretch and jump, in company with their favourite TV characters, is unlikely to have much impact on a toddler’s waistline, unless the whole family make lifestyle changes.