Childhood obesity 'boot camps'
Key points
- Overweight children and their families will attend free 10-week health courses as part of a campaign to tackle childhood obesity.
- The £1.4 million scheme will target about 2,000 seven to 13-year-olds in Wales over the next three years.
- It comes the week after an NHS dietician revealed children as young as two were being treated for obesity.
- Families will get advice on healthy eating, physical activity and shopping on a budget after enrolling themselves or being referred by a GP.
Overweight children and their families will attend free 10-week health courses as part of a campaign to tackle childhood obesity.
The £1.4 million scheme will target about 2,000 seven to 13-year-olds in Wales over the next three years.
It comes the week after an NHS dietician revealed children as young as two were being treated for obesity.
Families will get advice on healthy eating, physical activity and shopping on a budget after enrolling themselves or being referred by a GP.
Professionals will be on hand to help change behaviour and build children's confidence. Follow-up sessions and telephone support will be available to those who attend.
Rather than focus on losing weight, the Welsh Assembly Government said the twice-weekly classes will teach "weight management skills".
The Mend programme - short for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition ... Do It! - was devised by child health experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London.
Pilot schemes have been running in four parts of Wales since last September. Families taking part in a trial lost an average 4.3cm (1.7ins) from their waists after six months.
About one in five 13-year-olds in Wales is said to be obese or overweight.
Orange Personal Communications Services Limited
Ananova
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Children's Health →
NewsChildhood obesity: Jeremy Hunt threatens food industry with legislation
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has said he will consider introducing new laws to limit the amount of sugar, salt and fat in processed foods to curb childhood obesity but said he wanted to give supermarkets and…
8 January 2013
NewsRates of Childhood Obesity Fall Slightly
New data suggest that we may have turned an important corner in the childhood obesity epidemic. While rates of obesity and extreme obesity in preschoolers rose from 1998 to 2003, they began to plateau soon thereafter.…
28 December 2012
NewsTargeting kids' salt intake may curb childhood obesity rates, study says
When it comes to childhood obesity, experts are not shy about suggesting a link between consumption of calorie-filled sugary drinks and ballooning obesity rates in the United States. However, a new study finds a target…
