Fat kids eat healthier food than skinny kids, says study

(Daily Telegraph): Overweight children often eat more healthily than their thinner classmates, according to research suggesting that a lack of exercise, rather than a junk food diet, may be to blame for obesity. A study of 900 primary school pupils in Norway found that fat children ate healthy foods – such as fruit, vegetables, fish, and brown bread, as well as low-calorie cheese and yoghurt – more frequently than their normal-weight peers. The research suggested that a good diet without exercise would not be enough to prevent weight gain. It follows research published in September that suggested that diet had the greatest influence on weight.

The findings, in a study by Telemark University College and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, represent the latest contribution to the debate over whether diet or exercise is more important in combating obesity. Academics monitored the weight, exercise levels and eating habits of 924 children aged nine and 10 and questioned their parents about their own lifestyles. The children were asked how often they had eaten a variety of foods, both for main meals and snacks.

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