National Childhood Obesity Week

As the summer holidays approach, Zara Baker looks at ways to keep your kids occupied, healthy and active

The school holidays are nearly upon us, which means six weeks of a change in routine for children. Plan the summer holiday making your child’s health, fitness and nutrition a priority and keep them active this summer.

Take inspiration from the Olympic Games and school sports day and set up fun games for your children and their friends. The best news is, these fitness activities are inexpensive. Holding a birthday party for a youngster? Introduce party games such as hula-hooping for a fun way of keeping fit without it being a chore (and the adults can join in too!). Set the hula-hooping contest to music and see who can keep the hoop on their hips the longest. If it’s a tie break, add in different scenarios: hula-hoop on one leg or pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time. Hold a three-legged race in your garden or local park, or opt for an old fashioned egg and spoon race. Have prizes on hand for the winner: Olympic 2012 memorabilia is ideal, or make your own medals for a personal touch. The main thing is: avoid handing out too many sweets. Which brings us onto children’s nutrition.

We all know how difficult it can be to get our children to eat certain food and drink, but starting them on a diet filled with fruit and vegetables early on in life will mean they are likely to continue these healthy eating habits as they grow up. Healthy eating starts at home, so parents – lead by example. Save buying sweets, biscuits and chocolate for special treats and the odd occasion. Change eating habits now and they won’t miss the sweet treats as much.

“Healthy eating starts at home, so parents – lead by example”

A nutritious diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables and protein will improve your child’s mood and concentration and help avoid future health problems including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. To get children excited about making healthier food choices, play the rainbow game: keep a chart for the whole family, marking off all the colours eaten each day. Include as many different colours as you can to each meal; the more colourful the plate, the better it is for you – and we don’t mean eating Smarties. Add strawberries, blueberries and bananas to yoghurts and cereal. Eat vegetables with every meal: broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn. If your child is a fussy eater (which is not unusual) add tomatoes and vegetables to sauces to disguise them. Changing the texture by blending fruit and veg is a great way to introduce foods your child may previously have said they dislike.

Most importantly, keep eating healthy fun: grow your own tomatoes with the kids this summer. They are more likely to get involved and enjoy eating their own creation. Make your own blackberry jam after picking your own. Decorate foods: make happy faces with vegetables on homemade pizzas or cut fruit into fun shapes. Healthy eating and exercise needn’t be dull, and the odd treat is definitely a bonus.

National Childhood Obesity Week is here! MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition… Do it!) wants to raise awareness of the dangers of being above a healthy weight during childhood. For more information visit
http://www.mendprogramme.org/aboutus/mendin2012/ncow