Costs to the NHS in tackling obesity are projected to double to £10 billion per year by 2050.

It is hoped that this prediction will bear some weight in encouraging the Government to take on Britain’s increasing obesity problem.

The Department of Health has already set a target of reducing the number of overweight and obese children to the levels of 2000 by 2020.

Leading health organisations are currently challenging the Government to set out its plans to reduce childhood obesity in the Action on Childhood Obesity Charter, launched during the recent inaugural National Childhood Obesity Week.

The National Obesity Forum, social enterprise MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it!), the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the British Heart Foundation are among those involved in the charter who want to see more ambitious targets to tackle child obesity.

Cathy Court, food director for Netmums, one of the organisations which has signed the charter, says: “As parents, we know it is our responsibility to keep our families healthy.

“But the task of staying fit and healthy in today’s society is a constant struggle against the many powerful factors influencing families in our daily lives.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen Government, schools, parents and other sectors of society working together to reduce obesity, and these initiatives are just beginning to show results, but we need to keep the momentum up.

“To help parents bring up fit and healthy children, Netmums is calling for the coalition Government to take a strong stance on obesity and to give this issue the cross-party attention it desperately needs.”

Health Minister Anne Milton says: “Children who are overweight risk ill-health in later life. We want parents to encourage and help their children to eat well, be active and lead happier and healthier lives.

“We want people to know that they can make a difference to their health by changing what they eat, drink and how much exercise they get.

“What the Government can do is put in place things to make this easier for people. We are developing proposals to achieve this.”

Martin Earnshaw, childhood obesity health improvement specialist from Bradford and Airedale Community Health service’s OPTIONS team, says the causes of obesity are complex and multi-faceted.

He believes radical changes to society in the past five decades, such as changes in work patterns, transport, food production and food sales, have contributed to the cause.

Mr Earnshaw says that while there are many reasons for a person becoming obese, health professionals accept that it is primarily the individual’s hidden natural weaknesses interacting with a changing environment which includes more sedentary lifestyles and increased intake of high-fat and sugar-dense foods.

“These are certainly areas which the Government could continue to address, but on a greater scale,” says Mr Earnshaw.

The OPTIONS team is running a ten-week weight management and food and physical activity programme at SHOKK, a specialist gym for under-16s at the Leisure Centre, Keighley. It was the first of its kind in the area when it launched in 2007.

Leo Vento Payne is one of thousands of youngsters benefiting from the state-of-the-art fitness facilities.

The nine-year-old is currently embarking on the MEND 7-13 programme. From September, OPTIONS are also running preventative courses for two to four-year-olds and weight-management courses for five to 13s.

Leo’s mum Tina discovered the MEND programme on a visit to the GP with Leo for his asthma.

Despite being active – he plays football and is regularly out on his bike – Leo was still carrying some puppy fat until discovering MEND.

Eight weeks into the programme, and already his mum is seeing a dramatic difference. Leo has trimmed down and is enjoying learning about nutrition, too.

Tina says it is beneficial for parents. “He has never eaten rubbish, so I don’t solely blame myself, but there is an element of questioning yourself. It gives you a lot of food for thought and a lot of self-searching and it has opened my eyes to the trappings of food packets and marketing.”

Tina’s advice to any parents considering sending their children on the programme is to do it: “It is invaluable to parents, and the children are in a safe setting where they feel comfortable because they are with other children who have the same needs,” she says.

- For more information about the SHOKK gym, visit bradford.gov.uk/sport, or SHOKK.co.uk. To contact OPTIONS, call (01274) 202801.