Australia
Plump Australian kids urged to get out more
By IANS
Feb 3, 2006, 15:38

Worried over its numbers of chubby children, Australia is launching an expensive television campaign to encourage kids to "get active for an hour a day".

One in three Australian children are overweight and the government is to spend six million Australian dollars (US $4.5 million) in its campaign, Health Minister Tony Abbott said Friday.

But to receive that important message about the value of exercise, the overweight children will have to be sitting on their sofa at home.

"We would like to think that the young people of Australia would spend less time in front of the television set, less time on the computer, less time on the Game Boy and more time running around exploring the bush, going to the beach, playing cricket, football, soccer, whatever it might be," Abbott said.

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