Nintendo has admitted that its Wii Fit game may not be suitable for children as its calculations of body mass index are designed for adults.

A row erupted after 11 year-old Tabea Paul was told by the game that she was overweight.

The girl's parents were angered by the suggestion, and have said that the game could have given the child an eating disorder.

"Tabea said that she'd set herself a goal to lose 4lbs within four weeks, and I just said 'No way,'" her mother told the BBC.

"She doesn't need to lose weight. She's slim and tall and she's got a lot of growing left to do. It's things like this that could lead to eating disorders."

Tabea, who at 6st 11lbs and just under 5ft tall is a normal weight for her height, has now stopped playing Wii Fit.

Nintendo said in a statement: "Nintendo would like to apologise to any customers offended by the in-game terminology used to classify a player's current body mass index status.

"The resulting figures may not be entirely accurate for younger age groups due to varying levels of development."