Research just released has shown that a Youth Sport Trust, MEND and Sainsbury’s project, which encourages children and their families to take up healthy eating and get active, has significant benefits for the children involved.
The programme is an extension of The Youth Sport Trust TOP Activity project, supported by Sainsbury’s Active Kids, and links with the MEND programme for tackling obesity. It helps overweight and obese children (aged 7-13) and their families make life changes to improve their health and well-being, and encourages obese children to increase their physical activity levels.
How it works
The Youth Sport Trust matches Sainsbury’s Food Advisors with a local Specialist Sports College, which provides the project venue and delivers activity sessions. Eight Sports Colleges have been involved in the first term.
A resource pack of activity cards, a handbook and a DVD is available, with a set of activity equipment for each Sports College, plus a set for each of their feeder primary schools. As with TOP Activity, training is provided for the exercise trainer and the children’s sessions include fun activities like dance, martial fitness, hula, circus moves, games and team challenges.
MEND provides training for the Food Advisors, who run nutrition and healthy eating sessions for the children and their parents or carers, and has monitored and evaluated the project.
Results
During the first term of the project, 107 families took part, each undertaking a ten week programme with typically two sessions per week. Results show statistically significant improvements in the children’s body mass index, waist circumference, fitness, lifestyle and self esteem.
Joseph, one of the children taking part in the project, sums up his experience:
“Firstly, our PE teacher takes the children into the hall and we do fun exercise. I like it when we play ‘Grab It’! I’m much faster at running now, so when I play tag with my friends, I’m not always on because they can’t always catch me! The parents are left to speak about our lifestyles and us, with the Sainsbury’s nutritionists. When we join the parents we play food games, which teach us how to tell which food is better for us. I’ve changed the types of food I eat; I used to eat white bread and rice, and now I eat wholemeal bread and rice. Yesterday I put on my trackies and they felt really baggy! I’ve now got new friends and feel much happier than I used to!”
The Future
18 sports colleges now plan to run the programme next term. Ensuring that the children who have already benefited continue to take part in high quality, fun, physical activity is also a priority.