One of the most watched programs this year was The Biggest Loser. While it proved the popularity of weight-loss shows, it also highlighted the fact that weight still needs to be lost sensibly.

Network Ten's Teen Fit Camp says it's trying tackle the problem
of teenage obesity by taking six overweight Aussie teens on a two-month camping tour in the US. Gemma, Sam, Jaleesa, Tom, Christy and Leticha have a combined weight of 716kg - plus all the upset that follows years of being bullied.

Gemma told viewers: 'I just want to be loved for who I am. Boys don't want to be seen with people like me.' Tom, whose dad died recently with diabetes and renal failure, knows he has that gene and wants to avoid it. 'I could end up just like him,' the teenager laments.

The group's encouraged to eat 5020kJ a day, less than 20g of fat a day and wear pedometers while walking at least 10,000 steps. As they make progress with their weight loss, counsellors are on hand to help them tackle emotional issues.

But Louise Baur, professor of paediatrics and child health at The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, says despite programs such as Teen Fit Camp, where producers are aware weight control is more important than weight loss, the shows fail to reinforce this and thus create problems for participants.

'The trouble will begin when the teenagers come home to their family and community whose dietary and exercise patterns remain the same. Being overweight is a family affair, and all their good intentions will crumble if the family gets stuck in to the same tucker and continues not to exercise.

'Many of my patients are obese at 16 and weigh more than 110kg, but what concerns me even more are the many more young people who are just a little overweight. They see the really chubby people and think: 'That's not me. I'm not that overweight so I don't have to worry.' They do! Overweight young people become overweight adults, with all the risks associated with obesity including diabetes and heart disease.'

the net effect
Professor Baur says the wider issue is the sale of unhealthy foods to young people through the internet using food as lures.
It's called 'advergaming'. Go to any snack or breakfast cereal site, where kids can spend hours playing with a bunny who's a confectionery symbol. Or they can play a range of games
or change the colour of a room while there's a subtle sell for foods that are energy dense and fattening.

Professor Baur said that parents' concerns had started the healthy change with good food canteens on the rise in NSW and Victoria, and spreading to other states. 'Obesity is the public health equivalent of global warming,' she says. 'It's taken the community a while to appreciate warming is real and will get worse. It's the same with the weight crisis. It affects huge numbers and goes to the heart of how we live in the 21st century in Australia.'

Follow these tips for healthier kids and teens

• Limit TV and screen watching (PlayStation, computer) to less than two hours a day.

• Drink water as your preferred drink and don't buy soft drinks. It's easier to say no once at the shopping centre, than say no 10 times a day at home.
  

• Eat together as a family once a day.

• Always eat breakfast.

• Play or be active outside for an hour each day.
  

Kids' snacks
These great snack ideas are both tasty and nutritious.

• One slice of grain bread with topping, such as a low-fat cheese slice or 100g tin of tuna.
• One cup of wholegrain breakfast cereal and low-fat milk.
• Fruit smoothie made with glass of low-fat milk and berries.
• 100g tub of low-fat yogurt and one piece of fruit.
• Four Vita-Weat biscuits and two slices of low-fat cheese.
• One cup of popcorn and 100g of low-fat yogurt.
• Sliced fruit, such as oranges, rockmelon, grapes and berries.