Fitness magazine blasted for showing ‘gross’ photo of girls as young as four working out on machines with sports bras

A FITNESS magazine has come under fire for posting a picture on Instagram showing two young girls working out in a gym.

Shape magazine shared the divisive shot a week ago and was slammed for “crossing the line” and “setting kids up for mental health issues”.

The picture showed two young girls who appear to be aged around four or five years old, wearing gym leggings and sports bras.

One is using a rowing machine, while the other tot appears to be preparing for floor work.

Some have slammed the image as giving children a negative view of their bodies from a young age.

One follower wrote: “I am very disturbed by this image. Shame on you @shape. Let kids be kids. This is setting up these girls for mental health issues.”

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Dr Sarah Jarvis advised that pre-teens shouldn’t use gym machines for exercise[/caption]

And one added: “This is very disturbing and sends a terrible message to young girls”, which was also echoed by one Instagram users, who said: “THIS IS TERRIBLE. This is a great illustration of how young we start girls on the “you must be perfect” juice. Get out of here.”

Meanwhile, others took issue with the fact the girls were “unnecessarily” dressed in sports bras for the shot.

One reader commented: “Not a fan of little girls in sports bras like this.. why do they need bras??” and another agreed: “I cannot handle the child-sized sports bras or anything else about this photo. It’s just … off.”

And others said it’s not healthy for young children to be working out doing strenuous exercise at their age.

One added: “Dislike this photo. These girls are so little, I’m sure they’d rather be playing outdoors in t-shirts. What adult tried to pose then into grown women?”

But what do the experts say?

Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and Clinical Director of Patient.info, told Fabulous Digital: “On the one hand, I’m always very keen to encourage children to be physically active.

“We have a huge problem in the UK with childhood obesity – more than one in five children in reception and one in three children in year 6 is overweight or obese. Lack of exercise, as well as poor diet, has a major impact on this.

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A report by the World Health Organisation said parents of over-1s should ensure their children get a minimum of three hours exercise[/caption]

“But young children should be exercising all their muscles by running about, swimming and playing ball sports etc, not by using gym equipment.

“It is very easy for young children to use gym equipment incorrectly, not only because their co-ordination is often not as good but also because it’s made for adults and usually too big for them.

“Using equipment incorrectly can lead to abnormal strain on muscles and joints, as well as causing short term injury.

“And that’s before we even get onto the subject of body image, and the longer term impact on mental health of kids of this age learning that the ‘body beautiful’ is the only acceptable appearance.

“I don’t suggest that any pre-teen uses gym equipment, and even then under careful supervision from a qualified instructor.”

The NHS website advises that kids under five years old should be physically active for three hours a day, which can include energetic activities like running, jumping on a trampoline and dancing.