Mar 16 2010

Top tips on surviving Easter

A set of top tips to help overweight children and their families survive Easter has been launched today by child obesity experts MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!).

One in three children in this country is currently overweight or obese, and for overweight children trying to manage their weight, Easter can be a nightmare as the shops fill up with chocolate eggs.  For most of us one or two eggs is enough to keep us happy over Easter but it can be really tempting to eat more. MEND’s Easter hints are designed to equip families with strategies to cope with the temptation to eat too much chocolate.

Paul Sacher, Chief R & D Officer at MEND, says ‘Easter is a time when chocolate is everywhere, from easter eggs and chocolate chicks to chocolate bunnies and for many families it can be a tricky time to control the amount eaten.  These top tips given by MEND can help families resist eating too much chocolate at this time of year.’

MEND runs healthy lifestyle programmes which have already helped over 15,000 families improve their diets and activity levels.  The 10 week MEND Programme includes a series of sessions to get the whole family involved in helping children to change their eating and exercise habits, while learning about nutrition, therefore promoting sustained improvements in overall health, fitness and wellbeing. 

As well as finding out about the foods our bodies need to stay healthy, children take part in exciting games and activities and learn how to get fit by being creative with what they do.  Everyone has a fun and rewarding time and the whole family benefits. 

MENDs Easter suggestions:

• A treasure hunt for your breakfast: hiding real eggs in the house or garden and having to find them before you can turn them into poached eggs on toast
• Have an egg decoration competition
• Instead of buying lots of chocolate eggs surprise your child with an Easter art and craft set; make an easter bonnet or use a kit to personalise your own egg cup
• Get the family out in the garden and have an ‘egg and spoon race’.  You can even make it harder by turning it into a three-legged race
• Make an easter egg hunt with a difference; instead of hiding chocolate eggs, hide plastic eggs with clues in them.  The clues can include active forfeits ie 10 star jumps or hop like the easter bunny before you can move on to the next clue
• Instead of filling a basket full of chocolate eggs, fill the basket with little toys – you can even place these in colorful plastic eggs
• Play a game of ‘Pin the tail on the bunny’.  Colour a big picture of a bunny (without a fluffy tail) and then once blindfolded see if you can stick on the missing tail

For more information or to register for a MEND Programme in your local area, freephone 0800 230 0263 or visit www.mendcentral.org

- Ends -

Notes to Editor:

For general press enquiries regarding MEND or to speak with a graduate case study family, please contact: Paul Martin at MEND on 020 7231 7225 or paul.martin@mendcentral.org 

About MEND

·         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.

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