There are three key reasons why our children are overweight:

1. Portion sizes – eating far too food, even good food at a sitting.

2. Declining activity levels – the more you consume the more you need to burn but today’s children are far less active than their counterparts of 30 years ago.

3. Soaring sugar content of food – ‘hidden’ sugars are probably one of the most challenging aspects of trying to ensure a balanced diet for a child today. Parents, in many instances, are buying products that are contributing to overweight and it’s not the well recognised culprits – sugary drinks, biscuits, confectionary, chocolate and cake but jars of pasta and other processed foods.

The main advice is to start small with changes – don’t try to overhaul everything overnight as your child is more likely to resist. Small but definite steps to change over to healthier choices will benefit all of the family and, within six to twelve months, parents should hopefully see a significant improvement in habits, and therefore their child’s weight (if problematic).