Ashfield District Council: Chance Of A Lifetime For Youngsters

Chance Of A Lifetime For Youngsters

Date: 19th January 2009

Children who have trouble with their weight are about to be offered help as a specialist programme for youngsters returns to Ashfield.

The MEND Programme - MEND stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition... Do it! - is part of a national plan of action that offers free healthy lifestyle courses to overweight children aged between 7 and 13 years. MEND also involves their families in two-hour sessions, twice a week over ten weeks with a deliberate emphasis on fun activity so that getting fit is enjoyable!

The scheme operates at more than 250 locations across the UK and this is the second time it has been available to families in Sutton, Hucknall and Kirkby.

Ashfield District Council is working in partnership with SLM Leisure Centres to run the courses. They begin on Wednesday, January 26, at the Lammas, Hucknall and Festival Hall Leisure Centres with sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5pm to 7pm.

Families taking part will discover that the programme helps them improve eating and exercise habits, thereby improving children’s fitness, physical activity levels, nutrition and self-esteem. A further huge bonus for the scheme is that places are free! Thanks to funding from Big Lottery Fund, twelve places on the course - valued at up to £400 per child - are offered to families ree of charge on a first come, first served basis.

The MEND Programme is the UK’s largest healthy lifestyle programme for overweight children and their parents. Rather than focusing on weight loss alone, the programme uses a practical interactive learning approach to teach children and parents about weight management skills.

Families are inspired to:

to adopt a healthier lifestyle
to enjoy preparing and eating healthy foods
to read food labels and adopt a healthy shopping approach on a budget

This is backed up by simple but exciting sessions which focus on making exercise fun – especially for children who are not fans of traditional school sports.

Craig Simpson, MEND Programme Manager for Ashfield commented:

“The MEND Programme can really change families’ lives. Because of the friendly and relaxed atmosphere children are encouraged to give new things a go. We also focus on showing how parents how to be more supportive and to involve the whole family in making healthier choices to follow an active lifestyle.

“The benefits are obvious as children become healthier and fitter with increased self esteem and confidence. I very much hope families will take up this chance to improve their health with this fantastic free offer.”

Places on the MEND Programme are being giving away places on a first come, first served basis.

Families interested in participating should contact Craig on 01623 457233 or visit: www.mendprogramme.org and click on ‘Join a MEND Programme’.

Please note a parent or carer must accompany each child to every session.

Children enjoying the MEND Programme