While some want to blame fizzy drink or the fast food industry for our children's increasing rates of obesity, some research shows most of the problem amongst our children is their inactivity. In fact two to four minutes a day of activity made a big difference.

"One of the largest studies ever to look at the multiple factors of diet, physical activity, and sedentary behavior on obesity in adolescents, the report was published in the April 2004 issue of the American Medical Association's Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine" (Courtesy of HealthCentral.com).

In analysing dietary factors, the researchers found that eating fiber, and not fat calories, was most directly linked to an individual's weight. The proportion of calories consumed from fat did not differ considerably between a group of normal-weight youngsters and those acknowledged as being at risk for obesity, or already overweight.

"This is a potentially important finding from this study and emphasises the need to improve diet quality for adolescents," commented the study's principal investigator, Kevin Patrick, M.D., a UCSD professor of family and preventive medicine (Courtesy of HealthCentral.com).

Consistent with past studies, the researchers also found that the overweight status of boys' was related to time spent watching television. Boys in the 'at-risk' and overweight group reported a drastic rise in the amount of time they spent watching television per day (141.5 minutes/day) than the normal weight boys (108.4 minutes/day), whereas no difference was found in the girls groups.

"There's often too much emphasis on what people consume and not on how much energy they're expending during a given day," said Patrick. "Our study points to the importance of examining both sides of the energy balance equation when considering the population-wide increase we've seen in overweight in this age group in the past couple of decades. Insufficient physical activity and too much time spent on sedentary behaviors like computer games and watching TV may equal, and even exceed, diet quality as important contributors to overweight in adolescence." (To see more articles about Physical Activity Click Here.)