Scheme to tackle obesity in children

AN activity scheme aimed at tackling childhood obesity has been launched in the south east as it emerged one-in-three youngsters there is overweight and one in twelve obese.

The programme focuses on educating parents in the hope they will encourage children to eat healthily and become more active.

A study by the South Eastern Health Board (SEHB) revealed 8% of children between nine and 11 are clinically obese, and another 33% are overweight. 55% have a TV in their bedroom, while 75% are dropped to school by car.

The SEHB said the findings were consistent with evidence of a growing obesity epidemic and proof that prevention should begin at a young age.

The Childsplay programme, aimed at toddlers and preschool children, focuses on educating parents in the hope they will encourage children to eat healthily and become more active.

A similar programme, aimed at preschool children, was piloted last year by the Southern Health Board and has had a very positive response.

Thirty childcare workers in the SHB area were trained and then went to work with parents in small groups. Manuals were distributed to the childcare workers and the parents to support them.

“It’s a resource for parents, giving them activity ideas. It focuses on aspects of the child’s development and is age-appropriate,” senior health promotion officer Shirley O’Shea said.

“A lot of the focus on physical activity is directed at older kids. This programme aims to prevent obesity by getting kids active at an early age,” she said.

Staff in the SEHB have already begun training for the scheme, originally designed in New Zealand and successfully in operation in Scotland.

Workshops are being held for parents and activity manuals dispatched to 300 family homes across the region.

“Many parents have expressed how their level of interaction with their children has improved,” Paula Carroll, research officer at the board’s health promotion unit, said.

“Ideally, parental education should begin in the antenatal class and be reinforced once their baby is born,” she added.

The board hopes the scheme will go some way to solving what it describes as an “obesity time bomb”.

Earlier this week, parents warned that a shortage of sports facilities in thousands of primary schools is contributing to a fitness crisis among children.

More than half of schools in some counties do not have a PE hall and can only arrange PE lessons in dry weather.

The Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health and Children will launch a public awareness campaign tomorrow which will focus on healthy eating, incorporating ‘healthier’ portion sizes and the need for regular physical activity.