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Children on the MEND
Experts will hear today how a community-based programme has helped obese children become healthier, fitter and more self-confident.
Children from 107 families took part in nine-week programme from MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do It) last year and showed significant improvement in body mass index, waist circumference, fitness, lifestyle and self-esteem.
Paul Sacher, research director of MEND Central, senior research fellow at UCL Institute of Child Health and honorary specialist paediatric dietician, developed the programme with Dr Paul Chadwick, a specialist clinical psychologist at University College London.
Sacher said: “We were delighted to see that the results were largely sustained at 12 months. Obviously, sustaining a healthy lifestyle is the holy grail of health and fitness.”
Thirty per cent of children in the UK are now considered to be obese.
MEND is a multi-disciplinary programme comprising 18 two-hour sessions, typically run in the early evening across a nine-week period during the school term.
It combines all the elements known to be vital in treating and preventing childhood obesity, including family involvement; practical education in nutrition and diet; increasing physical activity and behavioural change.
With an emphasis on practical, fun learning, the programme is designed to deliver sustained improvements in families’ diets, fitness levels and overall health.
MEND is currently being rolled out across the UK, with funding for 300 sites in England alone. The programmes are operated and funded by a variety of organisations including local authorities, primary care trusts and private companies.
Funding has also come from the Big Lottery Fund, Sport England and Sainsbury’s.
MEND now aims to conduct a wider study to see if the changes continue to be sustained and/or improved over a longer period of time.