Children may die before their parents, warn Lib Dems

A fitness rating, put alongside details of academic performance, would help to cut obesity and promote healthier life-styles, they say.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Paul Burstow also says all new teachers should be given training in PE.

He has accused ministers of "dithering" in the face of a mounting health crisis.

"We have a generation of people who are growing up who are going to die before their parents," he told the Today programme on BBC Radio Four.

"It's not enough to just treat the symptoms of obesity, the causes must also be tackled.

"The obesity epidemic is shortening lives and increasing costs to the NHS. It is clear that the demand for surgery and other medical help is set to rocket," he said.

"The only hope of containing these costs is if a concerted effort is launched to tackle the causes of obesity."

Free fruit

The government insists it is working to improve children's health and fitness.

Health Minister Rosie Winterton told the Today programme on BBC Radio Four: "It's absolutely wrong for the Liberal Democrats to say that we are dithering and not concerned."

She pointed to the fruit scheme running in schools, where young children receive a piece of fresh fruit a day.

"By the end of this year, every four to six year old will get free fruit," she said.

"A quarter of children and their families say they now eat more fruit at home because of this too."

And the government was pumping money into improving sports facilities in schools, she said.

Vending machines

A report from the Liberal Democrats concludes that school reports to parents which focus on sporting skills miss the point.

"The government should address the issue of schools assessing and reporting student health and fitness as a core subject alongside more traditional academic subjects," it says.

The report also calls for a ban in England and Wales on adverts on fast food vending machines in schools, as there is in Scotland.

It says there should be a review of nutritional standards in tuck shops and that it should be compulsory for all secondary school pupils to do two hours of PE a week.