Over a three-week period researchers studied the relationship of socioeconomic status (SES) to body composition in 194 children, ages 11–12. They measured weight, waist girth, stretch stature, skinfolds, physical activity, TV viewing, and SES; researchers discovered clear SES inclines to upper class children compared to the lower class children.Childhood inactivity is linked to obesity in the United States with more children being overweight at younger ages. In a 2009 preschool study 89% of a preschoolers day was found to be sedentary while the same study also found that even when outside, 56 percent of activities were still sedentary. One factor believed to contribute to the lack of activity found was little teacher motivation, but when toys, such as balls were made available, the children were more likely to play. Home environment
Childrens food choices are also influenced by family meals. Researchers provided a household eating questionnaire to 18,177 children, ranging in ages 11–21, and discovered that four out of five parents let their children make their own food decisions. They also discovered that compared to adolescents who ate three or fewer meals per week, those who ate four to five family meals per week were 19% less likely to report poor consumption of vegetables, 22% less likely to report poor consumption of fruits, and 19% less likely to report poor consumption of dairy foods.
However the trend of substituting sweetened drinks for milk has been found to lead to excess weight gain. Legal
Some jurisdictions use laws and regulations in an effort to steer children and parents towards making healthier food choices. Two examples are calorie count laws and banning soft drinks from sale at vending machines in schools. In the United Kingdom the Obesity Health Alliance has called on whichever party wins the general election to take measures to reduce childhood obesity, for example by banning advertisements for unhealthy foods before 9:00 pm and banning sports sponsorship by manufacturers of unhealthy foods. The failure of the present UK government to cut sugar, fat and salt content in foods has been criticised. Health experts, the health select committee and campaigners described Conservative plans over childhood obesity as, "weak" and "watered down". Physical activity
Physical inactivity of children has also shown to be a serious cause, and children who fail to engage in regular physical activity are at greater risk of obesity. Researchers studied the physical activity of 133 children over a three-week period using an accelerometer to measure each childs level of physical activity. They discovered the obese children were 35% less active on school days and 65% less active on weekends compared to non-obese children. Physical inactivity as a child could result in physical inactivity as an adult.