New Results Show MEND Programme Can Successfully Combat Growing Problem Of Childhood Obesity

Results from a family-focused treatment and prevention programme for children who are over a healthy weight indicate the effectiveness of the initiative as a key tool to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity, claims charitable trust Tone Leisure.

One in three children aged five to 13 in the UK are obese or overweight according to the new figures which were recently revealed by independent research company Datamonitor*, with this proportion expected to rise to 40% by 2014.  Among the issues fuelling this trend are increasingly sedentary lifestyles, high consumption of ‘indulgent’ foods, and parents’ struggles to maintain a healthy diet for their kids.

Against this backdrop, the MEND programme (which stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it) in Somerset has achieved high levels of success with children who are over a healthy weight and their parents/carers, and has been effective in promoting behaviour change within the 10 week programme duration.   The MEND programme, operated by Tone Leisure in Somerset and funded by the Big Lottery Fund, helps children and their families become fitter, healthier and happier by offering free healthy living programmes in the local community.

“This new research brings firmly back into the spotlight the very worrying growth trend in childhood obesity and the need to tackle this issue, which is one of the most serious health epidemics facing our society today,” commented Melissa McCarthy, Health Development Officer Tone Leisure. “From Tone’s work with MEND it is clear that it is the family approach that has been instrumental in achieving the positive results we’ve seen, not only for the children but for the whole family.

“The initiative successfully promotes behaviour change and in our most recent 10 week programme the average results for the young people in the group showed an increase of 4.8 hours of physical activity per week, resulting in a 1.6 unit reduction in BMI, an improvement in eating habits and nutritional intake, and a 2cm decrease in waist circumference.  What’s more, the BMI of the parents/carers was also monitored over the 10 weeks and showed an average weight loss of 5kg which resulted in an average reduction of their BMIs by 1.75 units.”

Tone Leisure, the charitable trust and social enterprise that operates leisure centres on behalf of Taunton Deane Council, continues to see an increasing number of families registering to take part in future MEND Programmes.  Since 2008, Tone has delivered MEND 7–13 Programmes to 42 children and their families.

MEND and the National Obesity Forum have joined forces to launch the National Childhood Obesity Week which will run from 5–11 July 2010 to raise awareness about childhood obesity,

For more information visit http://www.toneleisure.com or http://www.mendcentral.org