Healthy Weight - children and young people

Overview

Children today are more likely to be overweight and obese than their predecessors.  This can impact significantly on their health as children and as the adults they will become. This is the first generation who may die before their parents.  The causes of this epidemic are complex.

Children are weighed and measured in Reception and Year 6. 1 in 10 children in Reception and 1 in 5 children in Year 6 are obese.  There are 4,246 children in the city who are either overweight or obese in these two school years alone. 

Parents find it difficult to recognise that their children are overweight and many professionals find it challenging to raise this issue. Only one in six parents correctly identifies their child as obese.  An approach, which does not stigmatise the issue, and which, associates health with happiness is most likely to be effective. 

Change4Life and Games4life

The Change4Life and Games4Life social marketing campaigns aim to tackle obesity by encouraging children and their families to make small but effective changes to their life-styles. Sign up to the campaigns is easy and will place the families on a national database so they can be sent a range of personalised material which will support them with these changes.   The children and families public health team are focusing on work to ensure that Leedshas one of the highest numbers of families signed up to the campaign.

Change4Life has developed a new summer initiative called ‘Games4Life’, designed to capitalise on the interest sparked by the upcoming major sporting events and inspire adults and families to get active and develop healthy habits to take into the future.

The campaign will be supported by TV, print and online advertising, CRM and partnership support - as well as a full PR campaign and national media partnership.

The campaign will centre around distributing millions of Games4Life ‘activity check’ questionnaires. Each individual who responds will receive their own free personalised activity plan, specific for adults or children, to help them make healthier changes in their lives. 

The Games4Life questionnaire is available from: www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/games4life.aspx

Widget: there are various grades of widget for you before launch for your websites and which will be available later this week at: www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/current-campaign-resources.aspx?filter=CurrentCampaigns

Other digital promotional collateral online:
Including presspacks, posters, make your own cut out medals, employers collateral and more are available online at: www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/current-campaign-resources.aspx?filter=CurrentCampaigns

Questionnaires (hard copy) and other promotional materials are available on the DH Orderline
Games4Life collateral will be available from the DH orderline - including a new Games4Life fridge magnet to remind adults that they need 150 active minutes a week codes are as follows to make ordering more simpler  - DH Orderline: www.orderline.dh.gov.uk/ecom_dh/public/home.jsf