A new study concludes that children are less active in summer and therefore gain weight during those months.

Researchers from Ohio State University and Indiana University studied the growth and weight records of 5380 kindergartners and first graders. They found that increases in children's body mass indices (BMIs) doubled during the summer months but fell to normal during the school year.

Dr. Betsy Keller, a professor of sport sciences at Ithaca College in New York, commented on the study: "The big question in my mind is what are the parents doing with these kids during the summer? Unless they're paying attention to their child's level of activity and diet, with each passing summer they are just adding to the risk of them becoming overweight. These are five year-olds, after all. They're not going to the grocery store."

The study appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Labels: exercise, rejection, summer_camp