Aussie kids battle weight gain and diabetes

It is a well known saying and sometimes it rings true, but the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder may be doing more harm than good.

Researchers have found that Australian parents may be doing their kids a disservice by failing to notice bad habits or problem behaviours.

And now it seems that a number of young people are suffering from obesity simply because the people around them are failing to say 'no'.

According to a report in the SMH local specialists are overwhelmed by the demand for places at child obesity clinics.

But facilities are unable to keep up with the pace of the rise in numbers – with as many as 80 new cases visiting local clinics each day.

Chris Tzar, director of the Lifestyle Clinic at the University of NSW, told the publication: "When I was studying, if you'd said there were going to be kids diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within five years, you would have been laughed off campus."

For teenagers or kids with dietary issues weight loss programs are often more complicated and need to be overseen by medical experts, however, making small changes while they are still young may help in the prevention of certain diseases.

Posted by Juliette Pemberton