Feb

9

Topic: Childhood Obesity News - It's never too early to fight the nation's flab - Guardian Unlimited

Filed Under Childhood Obesity News | Leave a Comment

In 2004, the departments for culture, media and sport; education and skills (now children, schools and families); and health agreed a joint public service agreement “to halt by 2010 the year on year increase in obesity among children under 11″ as part of a wider obesity strategy. These include a national programme to weigh four to five and 10-11 year-olds; measures to improve nutrition in schools; the so-called “healthy schools programme” which seeks to promote healthy eating, emotional health and wellbeing as well as sport; traffic light food labelling; the five-aday fruit and vegetable campaign; making routes to school safer to promote walking/cycling; revamping playgrounds; and restrictions on junk food advertising. While the government claims the new target is more ambitious in that it aims to reduce the numbers of overweight children, others are more sceptical, pointing out that reducing obesity and overweight to 2000 levels is a damning indictment of hundreds of thousands of children. How many of the five hours will actually consist of activity remains to be seen â” although 86% of children have two hours of physical education a week, ahead of the 2008 target of 85%, pupils are not always getting the full two hours of physical education because this includes the time to transfer to the sporting venue and get changed. Read Childhood Obesity

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