A new study has suggested that those children who are looked after by their grandparents are likely to be obese.

The study which was conducted at University College London study, included 12,000 three-year olds and found that the risk was 34 percent higher if grandparents cared for them full time.

The International Journal of Obesity however reported that kids who went to nursery or had a childminder had no increased risk of weight problems.

The BBC reported that Study leader Professor Catherine Law said the study did not look at why grandparent care was associated with being overweight but that indulgence of children and

lack of physical exercise were two possible explanations.

According to her," One of the ways forward would be to talk to small groups of grandparents to see the challenges they face." Some of the things that might help would be educating the

population in general about healthy lifestyles but also things like avoiding food as a reward and suggestions for building activities into daily life." (With Input from Agencies)