A TV personality from Europe — famed for his unconventional approach to improving children's health — could be heading to Bermuda to shake up complacent attitudes toward obesity.

Magnus Scheving, the Icelander behind popular children's show 'LazyTown', told Bermuda Diabetes Association he would visit the Island to preach the importance of eating the right foods.

His methods, which include associating healthy snacks with cartoon characters, have already been credited with a 23 percent increase in sales of apples in Iceland.

In 'LazyTown', Mr. Scheving plays super-healthy hero Sportacus, who encourages children to eat "sports candy" in the form of fruits and vegetables instead of junk food, and to run around outside instead of playing video games.

Mr. Scheving's show airs in more than 100 countries, and he is now attempting to visit as many places as he can to hand out 'LazyTown' books, videos, games, and sporting goods.

He was invited to Bermuda by BDA programme manager Sarah Burrows, who met him at a forum in the UK earlier this month.

Mrs. Burrows went to England to pick up tips from health experts from all over the world after latest obesity statistics put Bermuda fourth on a global list of major countries.

At least 13 percent of Islanders are now estimated to have Type Two diabetes, roughly twice the proportion in the US. Attitudes toward eating and exercise have largely been blamed.

Obesity figures among children are particularly alarming, with a recent survey revealing more than one in three aged five to ten in Bermuda is obese or overweight, while nurses have warned some ten- to 12-year-old diabetics — weighing 300 pounds — risk death in their early adult years.

Mrs. Burrows said Bermuda could learn from Mr. Scheving's methods.

"He makes children look at exercise and healthy eating in a fun way," she told The Royal Gazette. "It doesn't make you feel you are being punished.

"I asked him if he could come to Bermuda, and he said he would come for free. He said he had a passion for it. It could make a difference if he could come to Bermuda. It's fun, it's innovative."

About 360 people attended the UK conference. Talking points included a new report predicting obesity will cost the UK Government $90 billion a year by 2050 if soaring rates are not brought under control.

Mrs. Burrows said she would be trying to find out the corresponding figure for Bermuda.

Mrs. Burrows came under the spotlight when she gave a brief speech about recent screenings at TCD, where frustrated motorists were told their body mass index while they waited for service.

The TCD tests found a staggering 96 percent of obese people did not class themselves as obese.

Mrs. Burrows cited herself as an example of someone who is obese — at 5 foot 5 inches and 180 pounds — but until recently did not realise.

The 50-year-old also described discovering she had the metabolic age of a 65-year-old as a "light bulb moment".

"When we talk about obese people, we paint a picture of huge people falling off chairs," she said. "If I ask people when they look at me they say I'm overweight. But I'm obese. I have health issues that need to be addressed."

Since finding out she was obese, Mrs. Burrows has stepped up her exercise levels by walking when she previously used the car, and monitors her diet more closely.