Recent news announcements
23 July 2008
Free child obesity programmes set to benefit thousands more families
As Alan Johnson unveils the Department of Health’s social marketing campaign, MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!) announces the significant expansion of its national network of free courses for overweight and obese children and their families. From the Autumn Term 2008, 4000 more families are set to learn weight management skills each term in over 300 community locations across the UK as part of the after-school MEND Programme.
Delivered by local organisations working in partnership to combat child obesity, the MEND Programme is the largest family and community-based intervention for childhood obesity in the world. The course was developed at University College London Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital and is offered completely free of charge to families with overweight or obese children between the ages of 7 and 13. Over 5,000 children and families have already attended the course, which provides education on healthy eating, fun games to stimulate an active interest in physical activity and behaviour modification techniques to boost self confidence.
According to MEND Programme founder Paul Sacher, “The MEND Programme is an extremely practical and proven way of reducing children’s waistlines, and it’s working on a national scale. By offering a supportive environment we empower families to make dramatic improvements to their diets, fitness levels and overall health. Rather than pointing the finger and telling them what to do, we give them information which allows them to make their own informed choices.”
Funding from the Big Lottery Fund, Sainsbury’s supermarkets, Sport England and a number of Primary Care Trusts and local authorities will allow at least 27,000 children and their parents or carers to attend the MEND Programme completely free of charge by 2010.
14 March 2008
MEND's Easter survival guide for our nation of overweight children
A set of helpful tips and recipes to help overweight children and their families survive Easter has been launched today by child obesity experts MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!).
One in three children in this country is currently overweight or obese, and for overweight children trying to manage their weight, Easter can be a nightmare as the shops fill up with chocolate eggs. For most of us one or two eggs is enough to keep us happy over Easter but it can be really tempting to eat more. MEND’s Easter hints are designed to equip families with strategies to cope with the temptation to overindulge.
MEND suggests:
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Fill the fruit bowl with exotic “egg shaped” fruits such as melons, mango, papaya (you could even gift wrap them in foil or cellophane and ribbon!)
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Surprise your child with a non-food gift – such as an Easter Artist kit of art and craft materials to design their own Easter cards; or a face painting kit to give the whole family whiskers and bunny teeth (safety pin on cotton wool tails)
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Get the family out to the park for Easter Egg and Spoon races or play Bunny Tag with Easter bunny face paint and tails
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Have an Easter egg hunt – but hunt for real eggs! The first to fill an eggbox wins!
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Balance out the chocolate eggs with healthier Easter treats such as wholemeal hot cross buns
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Give painted wooden eggs as gifts – very pretty and they last longer than chocolate ones!
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As a family, try ‘blowing’ eggs to leave empty shells which can then be decorated with poster paints, candle wax drips or glued-on feathers – have a competition to see whose is judged the best or give them as gifts
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Have an Easter egg with a difference for breakfast - put food colouring in the water you use to boil eggs (use an old saucepan) and serve with wholemeal toast
21 February 2008
More MEND Programmes to help overweight and obese children in Year 2 to Year 7 manage their weight
As National Child Measurement Programme data reveals a worrying trend of weight gain in primary school children in the years between Reception and Year 6, the country’s most extensive child obesity treatment initiative announces that it is scaling up its number of courses.
With 250 locations due to run MEND Programmes from April 2008, the MEND Programme (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition….Do it!) is offering more overweight and obese children aged 7 to 13 and their parents than ever before the chance to learn how to manage their weight. Completely free for families to join, thanks to substantial funding from the Big Lottery and Sainsbury’s supermarkets, the MEND Programme has shown that children as young as 7 can learn skills at a crucial phase in their development which heads off their tendency to excessive weight gain.
Furthermore, with NCMP data showing that one in 4 Reception-age children starts primary school overweight or obese, it is also clear that more needs to be done in the form of early years obesity prevention. Designed to head off fussy eating and encourage active play, the Mini-MEND Programme for 2 to 4 year olds helps parents of younger children ensure their child gets the healthiest start in life before overweight becomes an issue.
Jonathan Scott, National Ambassador for MEND says “These NCMP results are yet more alarming proof that children as young as 4 are sitting on a potential health timebomb. Parents need to realise that the problem won’t go away unless they take action and support their child in making changes to their eating and activity patterns.”
14 January 2008
MEND offers kids the chance to get trimmer, fitter and more confident this New Year
Sometimes our kids need a little extra support to help them get healthy and be happy. Government figures show that 1 in 3 children is now overweight, but parents often don’t know where to turn.
Help is at hand this January: overweight children between the ages of 7 and 13 and their families are being offered a great opportunity to get fitter. A weight management course called the MEND Programme is running this term at more than 200 schools and leisure centres across the UK and spaces still are available for children and their parents/carers to join in.
MEND stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it! and is a fun programme which runs after school twice a week for 10 weeks. MEND includes a series of sessions to get the whole family involved in helping their children to change their eating habits, learn about nutrition and start getting active. As well as learning alongside their parents/carers about the foods our bodies need to stay healthy, children take part in exciting games and activities such learning to cheerlead and practicing martial arts moves. Everyone has a fun and rewarding time and the whole family benefits. Best of all, places on the course are worth around £400 but they are being offered completely FREE!
“MEND really helps children get trimmer, fitter and more confident,” says Pat McDonald, MEND Programme Manager of one of the courses, which is running at Greendown School in Swindon. “We’re looking for families to take up this fantastic opportunity and sign up for the course, which can be truly life-changing.”
To enrol your child for a MEND Programme, visit www.mendprogramme.org or call us on 020 7231 7225
