ISLINGTON’S primary schools should be doing more to promote healthy lifestyles, say parents and staff at a new weight management programme.
The programme by MoreLife Clubs, funded by Islington Council, aims to help overweight and obese children, aged 4-12, and their families to lose weight.
During last Friday’s session, parents and staff said children’s health is being compromised by poor quality physical education and a lack of provision of afternoon snacks.
Luke Spellen, lifestyle leader at MoreLife, told Islington Now: “The human body is designed to move around, to exercise and to work, not to be sat down for ages at once. Schools aren’t as interactive as they should be. Health and safety has gone mad and limited what schools can do. The curriculum should contain exercise every day.”
Angela Kherroubi, a parent enrolled in the programme with her 11-year-old daughter, said: “Some schools provide mid morning snacks, like my daughter’s school Hungerford Primary, of fruit like apples and grapes. But afternoon snacks are the problem, especially if kids don’t like the school dinner option provided at lunch time.”
Regarding the likely cost and waste produced by this proposal, Ms Kherroubi said: “Schools could carry any uneaten snacks over to the next day. Programmes like this must be more expensive than providing fruit would be.”
Most families enrolled on the programme were recommended by their children’s school after the children were identified as overweight or obese. MoreLife says the joint involvement of parents and children makes the scheme more likely to be successful.
Mr Spellen said: “It’s integral for us to educate the kids but it’s even more important for the parents because it comes down to what parents buy.”
Earlier this year, figures from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) showed that nearly a quarter of Islington children starting secondary school are obese – one of the highest childhood obesity rates in London.
MoreLife sessions aim to improve children’s lifestyles before they reach this stage. The sessions combine physical activity with lifestyle classes, which teach children and parents how to eat healthily.
Aysiah, 10, named ‘star of the day’ for physical activity, spoke of her favourite things about the programme: “It teaches you what to eat and what not to eat.”
While some participants have already been resistant to change, MoreLife staff regularly remind them that a healthy lifestyle is a long-term commitment.
Mr Spellen said: “About three parents didn’t come back [after the first two sessions] – there was a bit of a culture clash. If they’re used to doing things in a certain way, they’re not going to automatically take a liking to change. This is why change needs to be gradual.”
The weight programme is hosted at the Sobell Centre for 10 weeks until late December.
