Almost a quarter of children under 10 consider themselves overweight, according to a new survey.
Some 28% have been bullied because of their weight, while 26% have skipped a meal in the hope of losing some pounds.
The poll of 1,500 young people aged seven to 18 also found that more than 40% of under 10s worry about their weight and almost a quarter (23%) have been on a diet in the past year.
Two thirds (66%) of this age group admit to weighing themselves, with 37% doing so regularly. And 38% say they are influenced by a "diet obsessed society".
Among youngsters aged 11 to 13, 34% are not happy with their weight and 61% worry about it, 45% have been on a diet, including 15% in the last year.
Some 77% of this age group weigh themselves, with half doing so regularly. And 44% have been the victim of bullying over their size while 51% say they are influenced by society's expectations.
Of all the age groups, 13% say they are on a constant diet, while more than a quarter have visited anorexia websites and 5% do so on a regular basis.
More than half also said they had heard of people making themselves sick after eating and 16% think laxatives help weight loss. More than half of girls surveyed said they want to be a size 10 or smaller when they are older.
The survey was commissioned for the programme Dying To Be Thin: Tonight, which will be aired on ITV1.
It was carried out by Onepoll and Youngpoll, which are online survey companies.
