Antony Worral Thompson, chef and tv personality A recent survey carried out by Liverpool University discovered that more and more youngsters, and even babies are fat or clinically obese. The report recommended that parents take more notice of the amount of fat in their children's diet, especially saturated fat. I find this quite a dangerous statement. Many parents will start looking at fat content on labels and reduce dairy products such as cheese, butter and full fat milk. They may even look at eggs as a naturally fatty product. But this could be particularly harmful to children who need the calcium found in dairy products to enhance growth and develop strong bones, healthy nails and hair. Surely it would have been more appropriate for the study to have recommended that parents take note of the carbohydrate content of a child's diet, especially the sugar content, added or natural. With children leading such sedentary lives glued to televisions, computer games or PCs, their need for carbohydrates has been greatly reduced. Carbohydrates turn to glucose which in turn becomes fat. Our bodies will burn enough energy from our natural fat stores, and only if your life demands a daily diet in excess of 3,000 calories per day will you need extra carbs. Our children have become a nation of juice junkies, drinking gallons of products. What parents fail to realise is that just because a drink states "no added sugar" it does not mean that the sugar content in the form of fructose is not high. We know many children suffer from tooth decay. The same products that rot their teeth also fatten their bodies. It's time the British Medical Council reappraised children's diets in the light of their new sedentary lifestyles. What may have been good in post-war years does not necessarily benefit today's youngsters. {{NEWS }}