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Overweight children who are at risk for developing diabetes before puberty also face greater odds for having weak bones, a new study indicates.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia studied 140 children between the ages of seven and eleven who got little regular exercise and found that 30 percent showed signs of poor blood sugar regulation and 4 percent to 5percent less bone mass, which is a measure of bone strength.

The researchers say their new study is the first to suggest a link between weaker bones and childhood risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Catherine Davis, PhD, a clinical health psychologist at the Georgia Prevention Institute, says kids have time to make positive changes that will reduce their future risk for developing diabetes and weak bones.

"If you could patent exercise as a drug, somebody would be really, really rich," says Dr. Davis.