Nearly 25% of all children under three are either overweight or obese.
The Institute of Child Health at University College, London carried out its research and found that 18% of toddlers are overweight, and 5% are classed as clinically obese.
The research is based on data collected as part of the Millennium Study - which is tracking children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002.
14000 children are involved in the study. Their height and weight, and therefore their Body Mass Index (BMA) is monitored.
The research shows that Indian children are least likely to be obese, with only 9 per cent overweight, compared to 23 per cent of white children and a third of black caribbean children.
A Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology at the Institute of Child Health, Carol Dezateux, said, "The concerns were already there, but this confirms that messages to parents of very young children about diet and exercise need to be re-enforced.
"The message is that weight problems don't just start at school age - it starts earlier."
11 June 2007
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