Project Spraoi promotes healthy eating and fitness in school children

Grainne McGuinness learns about the success of Project Spraoi, which aims to promote healthy eating, fitness and general health in school children.

Fri, 03 Jun, 2016 - 01:00

Grainne McGuinness

CORK school children are being encouraged to get up and go as part of a health initiative called Project Spraoi.

The health promotion aims to improve eating habits, increase physical activity levels and improve the health of primary school children.

Co-ordinated through the Department of Sport, Leisure and Childhood Studies in Cork Institute of Technology, since its inception in 2013, it has been rolled out in nine schools throughout Cork city and county.

The programme sends qualified staff, called Energizers, into primary schools to lead classes in physical activity and to teach the children about healthy eating.

They also organise training for teachers and events relating to physical activity and healthy eating in the school.

Upper Glanmire National School, Co Cork, has been involved with Project Spraoi for the last two years and first- class teacher Norma O’Mahony says her pupils have benefited hugely.

“The children look forward to the classes, someone coming in from the outside has much more of an impact, they really listen to their Energizer,” she says.

“They love the activities.”

Whereas other external teachers coming in might be there to teach a specific sport or skill, Project Spraoi emphasises variety.

“I take each class for 20 minutes,” says Energizer and researcher Alison Merrotsy.

“The physical activity sessions focus on Huff and Puff games, getting the children exercising for the full 20 minutes so that no one is idle or waiting their turn for too long.

"We do loads of different things with them from running and tag games to gymnastics and dancing.”

O’Mahony sees a noticeable improvement in pupils’ fitness levels, citing a recent walk undertaken by the whole school.

“Other years, some of the seven to eight year olds might have struggled with the three kilometre distance, but this bunch were well able.

"It was no problem whatsoever, their fitness is really after coming along.”

Older children also enjoy the activities.

One sixth class girl reports: “I love Spraoi because I really like sports and we get time out of school. It’s a good way to clear your mind.”

O’Mahony’s pupils now ask for exercise as part of their homework and she believes they are also learning good eating habits.

“The nutrition sessions focus on sugary drinks, healthy breakfasts, the four food groups and takeaways, we have posters for the classroom and little tip sheets to be sent home to parents.”

Parents were also offered the opportunity to attend healthy eating sessions in the school.

Is there any danger of duplicating the work of existing initiatives such as Food Dudes?

“Project Spraoi is a flexible programme developed by the Energizer based on the needs identified by the school,” says Dr Con Burns, who oversees the project research.

“If other health promotion initiatives are working in the school Project Spraoi aims to build on other areas that need improvement rather than replacing existing programmes.”

O’Mahony says her class enjoyed the Food Dudes programme, which has been shown to produce lasting increases in children’s consumption of fruit and vegetables.

But she saw additional benefits with Project Spraoi, due to the longer time commitment and because the food element incorporated a wide range of foodstuffs.

“Because it runs for the whole school year the class really get to know their Energizer and come in with questions for her.

“She has introduced them to a huge variety of foods — banana pancakes as an alternative to regular ones and a healthy version of ice cream that they loved.”

The core philosophy, design and methods for Project Spraoi are based on a similar initiative in New Zealand called Project Energize, which reported significant results.

Participants in Project Energize were shown to have higher levels of cardiovascular fitness, smaller waist circumferences, and lower levels of obesity compared to comparison groups.

Dr Burns says he is happy with the Irish project results so far and envisions further improvements as schools are involved for longer.

“Results to date have been extremely positive,” he says.

“The Project has been found to have a positive impact on the health markers measured. Feedback from school personnel has been extremely positive.

“This month, we will commence the next phase of data collection — this data will enable us to assess the impact of the intervention across the years.

"It is anticipated that exposure to Project Spraoi intervention over multiple years may result in more positive results on the markers of health.”

Are there plans to roll out the project nationwide?

“The aim is to increase the number of participating schools in the coming years,” says Burns.

“We are planning to deliver Project Spraoi in six new schools during 2016/17 academic school year, while also supporting the existing nine schools.”

From there, funding is key to extending the project further. “Currently, the team is meeting with private industry partners to invite them to become partners with the project.

“We are really excited that Skechers has agreed to become partners with Project Spraoi. Other industry partners will assist us in increasing the reach of the project.”

Project ideas

Irish statistics show that an alarming one in four children is overweight or obese, with obesity now the most common childhood disorder in Europe.

Parents interested in applying the Spraoi project ideas at home can get information, including sample recipes, at www.cit.ie/projectspraoi

The site also gives examples of Huff and Puff activities, with indoor and outdoor options to cater to Irish weather.

A healthy sweet treat?

“I did Nice Cream with every class in the school last year and they loved it. It takes very little effort and kids could almost make it themselves or at least be very involved,” says Alison Merrosty from Spraoi.

Nice Cream