25 percent Australian kids overweight

SYDNEY: A quarter of Australian children aged between 5 and 17 are either overweight or obese, figures published yesterday indicated.

The data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also showed that the nation's kids spend an average of two hours a day in front of the television or computer.

The ABS said the increase in obesity was most marked in boys, with the rate doubling from 5 to 10 percent between 1995 and 2007-2008.