If you've ever been overweight, even by the slightest degree, you will have known the misery of school days. The chubby kid who is nicknamed Fatso the minute he, or she, enters the college gates for the first time. Unfortunately the name can stick for years, as can the accompanying inferiority complex.

Having been overweight myself from an early age, I remember the trials of sports day, the guffaws of classmates during my plodding attempt at the 100 metre run. The knowledge that my very well-developed bosom was a source of fascination for onlookers and a great embarrassment to me as I ran the course. That feeling of self-conciousness is very difficult to overcome, even in later life.

As a young child I would hide in embarrassment behind my mother, as people would scrutinise me and would comment on my size. Oh isn't she a big girl? She is big for her age. She's very bonny, what do you feed her on? Is she only ten?

By the time I was fourteen I felt sure I resembled a wobbly jelly and had no confidence at all. Even though I wasn't carrying half the weight of some obese youngsters today. Life was pure misery and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, let alone a teenager. The usual hormonal problems of puberty are difficult enough to deal with without a weight problem as well.

Child obesity is now becoming a severe problem. Don't take your teenage child's weight problem lightly. The effects of overweight children on your family and your child's future success, and, more importantly, their future health, depends upon how you deal with it today.

What's the right weight for my child? This is one of the most common questions parents have. It seems like a simple question. But, it's not always an easy one to answer. Why not? People have different body types, so there's no single number that's the right weight for everyone. Even among people who are the same height and age, some are more muscular or more developed than others. That's because not all kids have the same body type or develop at the same time.

Most kids do gain weight more rapidly during puberty as the amounts of muscle, fat, and bone in their bodies changes. All that new weight gain can be perfectly fine - as long as body fat, muscle, and bone are in the right proportion.Because some kids start developing as early as age 8 and some not until age 14 or so, it can be normal for two kids who are the same height and age to have very different weights.

Really a danger signal can be the small tyre developing around the middle. The face, arms and legs becoming very chubby and losing muscle tone. If you feel that your child's weight is getting out of control, now is the time to do something about it. Obviously youngsters love all the rich tasty foods available today - we all do. But there has to be sensible attention to diet and excercise.

Returning to my school days, I have a vivid memory of a session in the gym. The gym instructress told me to climb the wall bars and hang upside down by my legs. All the other kids had done it with ease - they were half my size. I think she was trying to encourage me.

Consequently I dragged my quaking body up the bars, made the mistake of looking down, and fell on the mistress from a great height. Luckily she broke my fall and after that I was excused physical excercise for the duration of my school days.

This might have been good news for me at the time, but I was well into my thirties before I managed to find a diet and exercise regime that helped me to lose weight and gain me some confidence.

Don't let this happen to your kids. You want them to be fit, healthy and trim. And even if obesity has made them lethargic and self-concious, this is what they secretly long for themselves. You can never fit comfortably into society if you are obese. You can help them to overcome the obesity problem and live a happy normal life.