STUDENTS should stand or squat at their desks after mounting concerns obesity among kids is spiralling out of control, health experts have said.
Campaigners have suggested the drastic measures to tackle the obesity epidemic – with at least one in three Brit kids overweight by the time they leave primary school.
Among the campaigners for healthy eating and exercise habits are celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, and Dr Rangan Chatterjee, of BBC1's Doctor in the House.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Dr Chatterjee said: "I want to see standing desks in schools as normal. I also want to encourage children to squat rather than sit."
He further raised concerns that sitting for six hours a day also compromised children's backs.
It comes as a government pledge to halve childhood obesity by 2026 is reportedly back on the table after having been dropped last year.
Among other drastic measures to end childhood obesity, health chiefs have also suggested kids should be banned from eating chocolate bars to halt the obesity crisis.
Under new guidelines, kids will be urged to swap choc bars for snacks like plain rice cakes, sugar-free jelly and fromage frais.
Authorities say youngsters should be limited to two of these between meals per day.
That rules out Mars bars which have 230 calories, KitKats, with 209 and Dairy Milk bars on 240. Even half a bar would be too much.
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Instead, officials suggest 27-calorie rice cakes, fromage frais with 41, or a pot of jelly with only five.
PHE’s Change4Life healthy eating campaign says: “Look for 100-calorie snacks, two a day max.”
The guidance comes as their research shows kids consume three times more sugar than recommended — with half coming from snacks and drinks.
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