Experts Recommend TV Ban To Tackle Childhood Obesity

Removing television from children's bedroom is the best way to combat growing obesity rates among them, according to British experts.

According to academics involved in an EC-funded project, nurseries need to ban toddlers from watching programs in a bid to prevent a growing number of children from starting school dangerously overweight, the Daily Mail reported.

Obesity among European pre-schoolers is at record levels, the 'ToyBox' survey found.

Yannis Manios, assistant professor at Harokopio University, Athens, who is co-ordinating the project, said: "We need a new approach to prevent obesity... We found that many countries are lacking clear guidelines on healthy eating and active play.

"However, there is good evidence linking sedentary behavior, such as television watching, with subsequent obesity."

In Britain, over a fifth are overweight or obese by the time they start school, according to official figures. Academics have found nearly 40 percent of pre-school girls in Spain are now classified as overweight or obese.

The four-year study also found from more than one in eight children being overweight in northern Europe rising to over 25 percent in parts of southern Europe.

Source: IANS