Grandparents could stop their grandchildren from becoming obese, a study led by the University of Oxford has found.

The university, working with Karolinska Institutet, has found out how important support from grandparents is in protecting children from being hugely overweight.

Published in Paediatric Obesity, the report involved 39 preschool-aged children from Sweden who had received treatment for obesity.

Researchers, including Professor Stanley Ulijaszek from the University of Oxford, found that when parents received emotional support from their own parents it worked in preventing their own children from becoming overweight.