Obesity-prevention programs could actually lead to disordered eating. (Thinkstock)It seems like the smartest option amid a sea of rising young waistlines: Introduce healthy eating curriculum as part of Canada’s nation-wide implementation of school obesity-prevention programs.

That means educating students about the importance of choosing vegetables, fruit, protein and complex carbohydrates to fuel their growing bodies instead of traditional teen staples like junk food and sugar.

But despite these good intentions, researchers are finding that the programs are causing “food neurosis” and eating disorders in children who used to never give calorie counting and weight loss a second thought.

“Healthy eating and weight initiatives have been incorporated into many schools to combat the growing obesity problem,” write researchers from Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in a report.

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“There is little research, however, on the effectiveness of