The more television young girls watch, the more likely they are to be overweight, a study has found.

The same correlation between the number of hours spent watching TV or DVDs and increased body fat was not found in boys, possibly because young girls are less physically active.

But the study, by researchers at UCL, found that all children who have a television in their bedrooms are significantly more likely to be overweight than those who do not.

The analysis of the habits of more than 12,500 children found that seven-year-old girls who have television in their room have a 30 per cent higher risk of being overweight by the age of 11, while a boy’s risk is increased by 20 per cent.