PERSONAL trainer Simon Lovell is encouraging overweight children to sit and watch television — but only while the Olympic Games are on.

The Exeter-based fitness and diet expert hopes the Olympics will inspire children to take up sport, and then lose weight through exercise.

"There are going to be some really diverse activities shown on television," said Simon. "Children might see something they would like to have a go at and they could find a new passion. It might be swimming or a martial art. It could be a hobby or a career path."

Simon became a personal trainer at Fitness First after he started going to the gym four years ago because he was overweight.

He wants to help children and adults lose weight and tackle the obesity problem in the UK.

"With the Olympics taking place, it is an essential time to focus on the obesity crisis," said Simon, who hopes parents will watch the Olympics on television with their children and also feel inspired to do more exercise.

Simon is currently working on developing a television programme to help obese children lose weight by pairing them up with their celebrity idols and getting them to follow the same exercise and diet regime.

Simon is also the author of the book The Lunch Box Diet, which is due to be published in January. The diet was originally posted on the internet but received so much attention it led to a lucrative publishing deal with HarperCollins.