Obesity in Irish children on the rise - TV to blame, says study

CHILDREN are becoming couch potatoes by watching too much television, playing video games and avoiding exercise, a survey has revealed.

And a third of pre-teens are either overweight or obese, according to the report by the South Eastern Health Board (SEHB) and the Centre for Health Behaviour Research at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

More than half of children between nine and 11 rarely take part in any form of sport or vigorous break-time activity at school.