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Kensington & Chelsea PCT will address child obesity in the local area by delivering free MEND Programmes to local children and families
Kensington and Chelsea PCT are signing up participants for a childhood obesity treatment programme. The MEND Programme is free for participants, and has been developed at the Institute of Child Health at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, UK.
London, UK (PRWEB) September 29, 2006 -- Obese children from schools in Kensington and Chelsea are being offered an exciting opportunity to take part in the MEND Programme – an active, fun-based programme aimed at tackling the problems associated with childhood obesity.
Kensington and Chelsea PCT in conjunction with Westway Leisure Centre will be running its first MEND programme between October and December 2006. Approximately 140 children and their parents’ will be offered places on the MEND Programme between October 2006 and July 2008. The 10-week Programme involves fun activities to improve cardiovascular fitness, exercise tolerance, nutrition and self-esteem. Previous MEND Programmes have been successfully run in Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth, Bromley and Waveney with impressive results.
The MEND Programme provides a unique opportunity for families to learn practical ways to successfully address the challenges of childhood obesity. The MEND Programme requires at least one parent or adult carer to attend each session with their child, as the Programme aims to improve the entire family’s eating and exercise habits, thereby promoting sustained improvements in overall health, fitness and wellbeing. MEND is not a diet, and the focus is not on simply losing weight.
In 2005, a large pilot study of the MEND Programme was conducted with 42 obese 7 – 11 year old children. After three months, their self-esteem (as evaluated using validated self-esteem questionnaires) had significantly improved and they all experienced significant improvements in BMI (body mass index), waist circumference and fitness levels.
Paul Sacher, MEND’s Research Director who heads the current research into MEND at the Institute of Child Health, says:
“Childhood obesity in the UK has reached epidemic levels where drastic action is urgently needed to prevent it rising further. Preventative action is also needed to prevent children entering adulthood with all the associated obesity problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. MEND has been developed as an effective treatment programme that can be easily and effectively integrated in a community setting and rolled out at local leisure centres, schools and children’s centres.”
Activities on the MEND Programme include swimming and land-based games, nutrition sessions, a supermarket tour and a recipe-tasting evening. Behavioural management techniques will also be used to encourage children to be more active and change their eating habits. Children participating on previous Programmes have said the following about MEND:
“I never liked wearing jeans before, now I wear them all the time and I even had to put an extra hole in my belt!”
“I won an athletics trophy for performance at the athletics school day – something I never dreamed of accomplishing before being on MEND!”
“The only thing I didn’t like about the MEND Programme is that it had to end!”
If you would like to sign up for the MEND Programme or would like more information please contact Beth Menger on 020 8962 7839.
The MEND programme in Kensington & Chelsea is a joint collaboration between Kensington & Chelsea PCT and Westway Leisure Centre.
Further details on the MEND Programme are available at www.mendprogramme.org.
Information for parents and schools: If you would like your children/school to be involved in the programme please contact Beth Menger at 020 8962 7839.
MEND press contact:
Madeline Freeman, 0870 609 1405
Kensington and Chelsea PCT press contact:
Beth Menger
Childhood Obesity Prevention Dietitian
20 Kingsbridge Rd
London
W10 6PU
General Dietetic Office: 020 8962 7839
Fax: 020 8962 7843
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