Too much TV 'makes children fat'

The risk increases by seven per cent for every hour of television watched at weekends by five-year-olds, according to Dr Russell Viner [UCL Paediatrics & Child Health].

"Helping to fight obesity by reducing inactivity in the population should begin in early childhood," he said.

"Tackling television watching in pre-school children may help, particularly at the weekends when children are probably less supervised.

"This research is based on findings from 1975, when Britain had only three television channels. The situation is likely to be more worrying today." …

The research from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies also says adults risk obesity if they regularly watch television.

Celia Hall, 'The Daily Telegraph'