UNLABELLED: The present day, almost worldwide, fattening of children is widely attributed to both excessive energy intake and reduced physical activity. However, treatments which only focus on reducing energy intakes and increasing energy expenditures rarely show long-term success. The family attitudes and environments which contribute to energy imbalance and the development of obesity are virtually unchanged by many treatment programmes. We need to learn more about the nurture of those children who retain normal fatness although enveloped by obesity-promoting environments. CONCLUSION: Better understanding of these children's lifestyles could lead to significant community-directed initiatives to promote normal childhood nutrition and growth even within affluent modem society.