About one in four Australian children are overweight or obese and most spend too much time in front of a screen, a national survey has found.
The $3 million study revealed all surveyed children ate too much salt some about 250 per cent more than the recommended intake and most ate too much sugar.
The survey, touted as the most comprehensive of Australian children's eating and exercise habits, involved more than 4000 children and parents across the nation.
Project coordinator Jane Bowen, of the CSIRO's Preventative Health National Research Flagship, said the survey results painted a positive picture overall, but the unhealthy weight levels were a concern.
''Without intervention, children who are overweight are more likely to become overweight adolescents and adults, and of course that brings with it considerable health risks,'' she said.
Dr Bowen said parents were often concerned about how best to talk about weight issues with their children. She suggested that parents talk more about healthy behaviours, such as eating well and being active, rather than focusing on weight.
It was also important parents acted as good role models and created an environment to encourage exercise and healthy eating at home, Dr Bowen said. ''We really need the Government, the health care professionals, the food industry, and also parents to all play a role in addressing this issue,'' she said.
The survey found children's sodium salt intake was much higher than recommended amounts.
Children aged nine to 13 consumed almost 2700mg of salt per day, almost 250 per cent higher than the maximum recommended intake.
Some of the main sources of the salt included bread and cereal-based products.
''That highlights an immediate thing the food industry can do and that's to start looking at the salt content of their processed foods,'' Dr Bowen said.
Children surveyed spent three to four hours a day on average in front of some sort of screen television, computer or video game console.
Professor Tim Olds, from the University of South Australia, said swapping sedentary behaviours such as watching television for activities to get children moving was a great step towards decreasing the levels of unhealthy weights.
Spending a lot of time in front of screens, particularly browsing the internet, was not always negative, Professor Olds said.
But the full impacts were unknown. ''This is really the first generation that's spent so much time in front of screens,'' Professor Olds said.
''And it'll be interesting to see what happens as this generation grows up.''
A team of CSIRO Preventative Health Flagship researchers and University of South Australia researchers led the 2007 Australian Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity survey.
It was funded by the Department of Health and Ageing, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the Australian Food and Grocery Council.
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