SURREY ON THE MEND!
Active Surrey
Sports Partnership and Surrey Primary Care Trust have become
partners in the Big Lottery Funded initiative 'England on the
MEND'. This £8 million project tackles the
problems associated with children who are overweight, or obese,
through an active, fun-based programme.
The new MEND Programme helps local
children and families become fitter, healthier and happier, and
over nine weeks, participate in fun activities to improve
cardiovascular fitness, exercise tolerance, nutrition and
self-esteem. The MEND Programme provides a
unique opportunity for families to learn practical ways to
successfully address the challenges of childhood
obesity.
After running a successful pilot
project in North Guildford for 12 families, the county has been
awarded £40,000 to roll out 24 MEND courses across the
boroughs of Surrey. Future programmes will be
held in Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Camberley, Epsom, Redhill
and Tandridge, and will start in September
2007. The programme's ultimate
objective is to make a meaningful and sustained impact on the
physical, psychological and social wellbeing of children and
families.
The MEND Programme requires at least one
parent or adult carer to attend each session with their child, as
the Programme aims to improve the entire family's eating and
exercise habits, thereby promoting sustained improvements in
overall health, fitness and wellbeing. MEND is not a diet, and the
focus is not on simply losing weight.
Paul Sacher, MEND's Research Director,
says: "Childhood obesity in the UK has
reached epidemic levels where drastic action is urgently needed to
prevent it rising further. Preventative action is also needed to
prevent children entering adulthood with all the associated obesity
problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood
pressure."
The MEND Programme include games,
physical activities, nutrition sessions, a supermarket tour and a
recipe-tasting evening. Behavioural management
techniques will also be used to encourage children and their
parents/carers to be more active and change their eating
habits. Children participating on the pilot MEND
Programme in Guildford said the following about
MEND:
"I have learnt a lot so far at MEND, all
about what foods are good for us to eat and what we should be
careful not to eat too much of, which is quite hard sometimes, but
all my family are doing the programme together so it makes
it a bit
easier."
"I never liked doing sports or PE at
school, but the activities we do at MEND are so much fun, we even
get to play on space hoppers!"
If you would like to sign up for the
MEND Programme or would like more information please contact
Julie Nelson on 01483 532828 or email Julie.Nelson@surreypct.nhs.uk
Further details on the MEND Programme
are available at: www.mendprogramme.org
Congratulations to
Philippa! After impressing national bosses with her
work on the Surrey pilot, Philippa has landed a job to co-ordinate
the south-east MEND programme. It's a great progression for
Philippa and she will be sorely missed by all at Active Surrey when
she leaves in May.
Last updated 15 May
2007
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