Mar 15 2010
New fitness tests for children - MEND responds
Paul Sacher, Research Director at MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it!) – a social enterprise that provides healthy living programmes for children and their parents, said:
“With childhood obesity levels at an all time high, a structured approach to assessing children’s fitness levels is a welcome step in the right direction.
"Physical activity should be part of every child’s day. Video games and TV combined with parents' fear of letting their children play outside has led to soaring numbers of inactive and unfit children.
"MEND provides a safe and supportive environment where even the least fit children learn that exercise can be enjoyable and we hope this recommendation, if taken forward by the Department of Health, will be supported by programmes such as MEND.”
Ends
Contact: Lucy Hannagan, 020 7231 7225 / 07872 506996, lucy.hannagan@mendcentral.org
Notes to editors
· MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition...Do it!) runs healthy living programmes for children and their families aged 2 – 13 years old in their local community
· The MEND Programme was devised by Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, University College London.
· The MEND Programme is run in over 350 sites across the UK and has helped over 15,000 families
· MEND’s programmes are developed and tested by obesity specialists for delivery by a range of community based public and private sector partners.
