A healthy lifestyle programme aimed to improve children's fitness, physical activity levels and self-esteem is being tested in Somerset.
MEND, which stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It!, is a groundbreaking plan aimed at overweight children aged between seven and 13.
Funded by Sainsbury's, it offers twice-weekly fun activities free of charge and places are currently up for grabs.
Theresa Decker, Sainsbury’s community food and health advisor, will be running the programme at the Chilton Trinity Sports Centre, where exciting activities including cheerleading and martial fitness will help to renew children's interest in exercise.
Theresa said: "MEND is unique and actively tackles childhood obesity by involving the whole family in making healthier choices and following an active lifestyle.
"I’m very much looking forward to running the scheme in the Bridgwater area."
Fantastic feedback has been received from families in other parts of the UK who have already taken part over the last 18 months.
Results have shown that participants lost over two centimetres from waistlines, body mass index has been reduced by 0.8 and secondary activity, such as sitting in front of the TV, has been reduced by eight hours a week.
KIDS EXERCISE MORE AWAY FROM SCHOOL SAYS SURVEY
Children do more exercise during their school holidays than term-time, a new report has claimed.
Published in conjunction with the Open University, the research commissioned by La Manga Club in Spain suggests that holiday exercise is more engaging for children and is more prevalent.
The vast majority (96%) of respondents aged 12 said they did more exercise in the summer holidays than term-time.
In addition, eight out of ten said they got enjoyment from their holiday exercise, with those who travel abroad typically doing the most.
Holiday eating was also shown to be healthier, with less junk food consumed and more fruit eaten in the school holidays than term-time.
Staged entirely by children, the test is being touted as a valuable insight into children’s lifestyles.
Dr Mary Kellett, Director of the children’s research centre at the Open University, said it was important the research was conducted “free of adult filters and adult influence”, adding that it was also vital that childhood obesity was addressed.
“The more we can do to encourage children to be active, the better and making exercise fun is the key - this is one of the strong messages in the children’s own research,” she added.
Dawn Primarolo, Public Health Minister, said it was a first-rate report and a good example of how to engage children.
Earlier this week statistics were published showing there are around one million obese children under 16 in the UK.
Nike and the Football Foundation have combined to launch a range of initiatives that use the appeal and attributes of sport to inspire youngsters and improve communities in England.
The organisations began working together when Nike became the official kit and equipment supplier for the Foundation’s Junior Kit Scheme. This initiative has meant 210,000 youngsters have been given free football strips and equipment.
They have co-operated on an ad hoc basis –including the successful Stand up Speak up (SUSU) anti-racism programme. The pan-European SUSU campaign was managed by the Football Foundation in the UK and provided £1m of funding from the sale of anti-racism wristbands, delivering 109 projects that used sport to tackle issues of racism.
As well as undergoing a total redesign of the football strips, clubs and schools can now apply to the Junior Kit Scheme online via the Football Foundation’s website www.footballfoundation.org.uk.
Another initiative is the Nike Player Panel. This is to be piloted next year and will involve four Nike-sponsored footballers based in four regions to become Football Foundation Ambassadors and champion potential funding for community-based sports projects in their area.
MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT - EXERCISE IS GOOD FOR KIDS
Children who do more exercise have stronger bones, new research has revealed.
Experts believe that parents should be doing more to encourage their children to be more active and help prevent debilitating bone disease later in life.
The research, carried out by researchers at Southampton University, found that children who were more physically active had more robust skeletons.
The team compared the average amount of physical activity of 200 four-year-olds with the strength of their bones.
Project Manager Dr Nick Harvey of the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre, said: “Evidence suggests that it is likely that the better your bones are when you are young, the better they will be when you are older. More physical activity as a child could mean stronger bones in old age.”