Football legend Ian Wright is going to try and tackle obesity bbefore we send are kids to an early grave.....

Experts are saying that by 2010 one million of our children will be obese.

A study of children’s fitness has taken place in ten countries, our youngsters came in at seventh.

But bulging waistbands are just half the battle when it comes to kids’ health. British children are among the laziest in the world. They spend more than nine hours a week playing computer games and less than an hour exercising.

Take slim seven-year-old Jordan Hutchinson. He looks the picture of health but his lazy ways mean he’s not as fit as he seems. Like many kids, as soon as he gets home he’s glued to his computer.

Simple fitness tests revealed that despite being a healthy weight, hours spent on his PlayStation mean his lung function is the equivalent of a child with severe asthma.

And further proof that being the rightweight is just part of the story was shown by recent research at London’s Hammersmith Hospital. It revealed that skinny minnies could be hiding an inner fatty.

A high-tech scanning machine showed that slim people who don’t exercise can accumulate fat around their heart and even trigger conditions such as Type-2 diabetes.

That’s why Ian Wright is doing for kids’ fitness what Jamie Oliver did for school dinners. Wrighty, teaming up with Fit For Sport, has launched The Fitter Schools Challenge, which aims to test and improve the fitness of kids from 30,000 schools.

Here is a way you can test your kids at home...

See how many of each test your child can do in two minutes.

SHUTTLE RUNS: Mark out a 12-metre distance using two bean bags. Get them to do as many runs between the two bags as they can. A good score for primary school children is 21-30. Secondary school children should achieve 26-40.

STAR JUMPS: Start with legs together and arms to the side, then jump with legs out wide while raising your arms above your head. That counts as one star jump. A good score for primary school children is 81-120. Secondary kids, 101-160.

STEP-UPS: Step on a bench or bottom stair, one leg at a time, then step down one leg at a time. This counts as one step. A good score for primary school age is 46-70, older kids aim for 81-100.

Tagged in