Early Warning Signs for Childhood Obesity

Scientists have drawn up a check-list of early warning signs of child obesity, among them too much television and not enough sleep.

More than eight hours' TV a week or less than 10-1/2 hours' sleep a night for a three-year-old increase the risk of piling on the pounds, they say.

"Eight factors in early life are associated with an increased risk of obesity in childhood," said Dr John Reilly, an expert on child obesity at the University of Glasgow. "There are certain factors, very early on, which can set you on a particular path in life to becoming obese," he added in an interview.

The others are: high birth weight; early size; rapid weight gain; quick growth in years one and two; early body fat; and having obese parents.