Taffy Makaya, Rebecca Poole and Kavitha Rozario
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interactive whiteboard DVDs, big books and games, music CDs, workbooks
and posters was developed and provided [38].
Alive’N’Kicking
Alive’N’Kicking (ANK) is another programme aimed to promote a
healthier lifestyle for families. This was a highly successful children’s lifestyle
weight management service that helps overweight children and young people
and their families to reach and maintain a healthier weight. The service
provides age specific programmes for families with children aged between 2 to
19 years old. Each categorised programme is specifically designed to provide
age appropriate messages, activities and behavioural change strategies that will
benefit the whole family.
The latest report of ANK in 2015 showed that if the 4742 families
enrolled in this programme and 1687 children passed through the schools
obesity prevention programme. 81% of children had a reduced BMI z score
with 65% of children increasing their 4 hour cardiovascular fitness over the
duration of the programme. 70% of children also improved their self-esteem
[39].
‘Make It Count’
‘Make it count’ is an obesity treatment and prevention programme for
children aged 4 to 7 years in primary schools in Walsall. Make It Count is a
12 - week programme and uses a whole family approach to increase their
physical activity levels and knowledge of healthy eating. The programme’s
objectives include making parents more aware of their current lifestyle
behaviours and how to make small changes to become healthier. Children are
encouraged to be more physically active and parents are encouraged to
become active with their children too. The programme aims to increase the
knowledge of children and their parents about healthy and unhealthy foods and
it familiarises them with the Eat Well Plate and with Change4Life resources.
Workshops for parents are also included as part of the programme to
educate them on preparing healthy meals and tips on how to reduce salt, sugar
and fat. The children are assessed for height, weight, knowledge of healthy
eating, and emotional development with a POMS (Profile Of Mood States)