overweight children

A report published in the International Journal of Obesity, based on data from 12,000 children, found that kids who are looked after by their grandparents are more likely to be overweight than kids cared for by childminders or parents.

The study, led by Professor Catherine Law from University College London, used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which collected data on the health of children born between 2000 and 2001, when they were aged between nine months and three years old.

"Short and fat doesn't look good." This what my father used to tell me. As a "husky" kid, those were, uh, comforting words.

Lucky for me, he didn't say that stuff in public, which was good - I guess.

But, the First Lady is getting some heat for mentioning her daughters' little weight problem.

It's very difficult to offer help without sounding like you're interfering or nagging or, worse, giving the impression that you don't like your friend or relative because of their weight.

A new study of 1,200 Australian families has revealed "the majority of caregivers believe their kids are of normal weight when they are overweight or even obese".

The Australian associated press item claims that "heavy parents are the worst judges of them all" and that the findings were "alarming given Australia was in the grip of an obesity epidemic".

A professor at the University of South Australia has reviewed 1700 published studies researching children's diets from over 30 years. His conclusion?

Children of today are eating less food (including less fat) than they used to.