Four-month-old babies attending gym classes

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A US chain has signed up hundreds of babies and toddlers across London for "developmental gymnastics".

Demand for places has surged as government figures reveal one in five London children under 11 is obese.

A new centre in Chiswick has registered almost 500 children since September - including 150 babies under three - and two more gyms are due to open in Chelsea and Hampstead.

Grandparents are even buying their grandchildren membership of the gyms as a Christmas present.

Tracie Silk, owner of the new Little Gym in Chiswick, already runs packed classes for 10-month-old babies and will start teaching four-month-olds in February.

She said: "We have had an unbelievable response from people wanting to bring babies under 10 months along.

"We were taken completely by surprise when we opened."

The Little Gym says its £300-a-term classes for four-month-olds upwards, based on gymnastics and including forward rolls, build up babies' core body strength before they start crawling.

Classes for children up to 12 also include "galloping" and monkey jumps to get them in the habit of exercise.

Parents accompany children up to three years old, helping them to "walk" along a beam, do forward rolls and use balancing bars.

Angela Hinman, gym director at the Hampton Hill centre, said: "Parents are always surprised at how physical it is for the young babies. We get them to do forward rolls before they can crawl - with their parents' help. The concept is about making movement fun."

Experts say there is little point in targeting babies as young as four months.

Professor Tim Cole, paediatrician at the Institute of Child Health at University College London, said: "I would be very sceptical about attempting to get four-month-olds to do exercise, they are not even crawling then."