Kids are on the mend (From This Is Wiltshire)

Kids are on the mend

8:05pm Sunday 29th November 2009

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CHILDREN as young as five are being targeted in Swindon as part of a campaign to tackle childhood obesity.

NHS Swindon, in conjunction with Swindon Borough Council, will be launching three free courses in the town in January aimed at encouraging children to adopt healthier lifestyles.

The MEND programme – Mind, Exercise, Nutrition...Do it! – was successfully rolled out in Swindon earlier this year.

“We learnt so many things on the programme,” said mum, Kate Butler.

“My child is so much more active and as a family we have changed what we eat and how we prepare meals, which means that we all have lots more energy.”

Cherry Jones, assistant director of public health at NHS Swindon, revealed in September that child obesity figures in Swindon had levelled off after increasing during the previous decade.

She said with the schemes being introduced, there should be a decrease in those figures.

A British Heart Foundation poll recently revealed that nearly one in three children does less than an hour of exercise a week, and that one in five sees exercise as a chore that is only necessary for people who are overweight.

The survey also found that 55 per cent of the children polled were spending more than an hour a day chatting on websites or texting friends.

The MEND programme will be addressing these issues with its after-school courses which will take place twice a week for 10 weeks running from January at the Link Centre, Dorcan Recreation Complex and Greendown Community School.

The programme includes a series of sessions to get the whole family involved in helping children to change their eating and exercise habits, while also learning about nutrition. During the sessions, the youngsters will have the chance to prepare and eat healthier food.

Emma Creighton, the MEND programme manager, said: “Previous families on the course have had a great deal of success and it changes family’s lives.

“Children become healthier and fitter, and we have seen their self-esteem and confidence increase greatly.

“We are committed to offering families in Swindon the chance to improve their health with this fantastic free course.”

Places on MEND 5-7 and 7-13 are being offered free on a first come, first served basis.

Although there is no cost to attend the programme organisers will assess whether a child qualifies for the programme based on their age, weight and health. A parent or carer must accompany each child to the sessions, which must be booked in advance.

Parents wishing to check whether their child is a healthy weight of whether they might benefit from the MEND programme can visit www.mendcentral.org, which has a Body Mass Index calculator.

For more information or to register, visit the website or call 0800 230 0263.

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