IT'S a school's job to exercise the minds of its pupils.

But at one Hampshire primary school teachers are concentrating as much on its children's bodies.

In scenes reminiscent of a Japanese car factory, head teacher David Martindale can be seen keeping a watchful eye on youngsters working out at Bevois Town Primary School.

Sixty of Bevois Town's nine- and ten- year-olds have three sessions in the playground a week, each of 20 minutes - the recommended minimum to improve fitness.

The programme, called Fit Body Fit Mind, follows alarming warnings from health experts about the impact of bad diet and no exercise.

An epidemic of obesity has crossed the Atlantic from its homeland in the United States and is well established in Europe. Many nations here class one in five people as obese.

In Britain, two thirds of men and one third of women are classed as either overweight or obese.

Modern lifestyles are particularly hard on children's health. Grossly obese youngsters are warned they could die before their parents.

"Kids are not gluttons or lazy. They have been ambushed by living in an environment that has not been seen before," said nutrition expert professor Andrew Prentice.

"If you are consuming more energy than you use then obesity is the inevit-able result."

Concerned at these re-ports, Mr Mar-tindale aims to ensure his youngsters burn plenty of calories with his series of fun, early morning exercises.

And the idea is reaping results.

"Back in the classroom we noticed a dramatic improvement. Their minds were bathed in oxygen. We noticed children were more alert, sitting up more, taking part more and their concentration improved," he said.

For Mr Martindale, a committed fitness fan, the exercises are all about improving health. Weight loss is an added happy result.

"We never mentioned it, that's not our place, but it was quite clear," he said. "Tummies disappeared, faces slimmed down and children became aware they could do this."

The exercises have won support from city education bosses.

Councillor Richard Harris, council executive member for schools, said: "He's found something that seems to work, that children enjoy doing, that only takes a small amount of time out of each week and doesn't replace sport.

"If other schools wanted to try it we would encourage them."