The Disney Channel shows had the widest variety of body types with 21 percent overweight characters, 46 percent average weight, and 33 percent thin characters.

Requests for comment from the parent companies of Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel were not immediately returned.

The one lingering negative stereotype in children's sitcoms was a decreased number of friends or social networks for an overweight character.

Callister said they also noticed that African-American characters were more likely to be portrayed as above average weight than their Caucasian counterparts.

However, the study pointed out that the lack of African-American characters on television prevents a truly accurate comparison. Gender played no significant role in weight differences.

Robinson and Callister are now evaluating teen movies' portrayal of body image.

Yet, despite the positive strides being made by some television programs, researchers said much of the media focus, including adult television, is still on "thin" or "muscular."

"As (children) look on their video games, as they consume different teen magazines, as they watch other kinds of programming, they are still being exposed to an overwhelming amount of the thin ideal," Callister said. "I see (children's programming) as a nice counterbalance to some extent."

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Contributing: James Davis

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com