Public Health England has launched its 10 minute shake-up campaign in Kent in time for the summer holidays – encouraging primary school children to do more exercise with a little bit of help from Elsa, Lightning McQueen and other Disney friends.
This follows the news that the number of primary children meeting the recommended amount of physical activity for healthy development and to maintain a healthy weight, which is 60 minutes a day, drops by 40% as they move through primary school[i]. Currently, just 23% of boys and 16% of girls in the South East currently meet the national recommended level of activity.[ii]
Figures show that in Kent, one in five children enter primary school overweight or obese but this increases to one in three pupils leaving primary school overweight or obese. Obese children are not only at increased risk of immediate health problems; they are also more likely to become obese adults. In Kent nearly 65% of people aged over 16 are overweight or obese – that’s over 800,000 people*.
Kent County Council is supporting 10Minute Shake Up as part of its Change4Life programme to promote a healthier lifestyle for families. Schools like Cecil Road Primary School in Gravesend are currently receiving 10Minute Shake Up Passport packs with a range of activities to prompt children to keep active over the summer. The school’s PE Co-ordinator Mark Neville said: “We believe this is really important for the school because it is inclusive and every child has the opportunity to play and be active; we’ve run morning clubs which have meant the children are on time now, having breakfast and are happier – this has had a positive impact in the classroom and on the whole school.”
Pupils at the school have also become Change4Life Champions to encourage their classmates to be active and eat healthier food, 11-year-old Amrit Cheema said: “In the playground we like to make sure everyone is playing a game rather than just sitting about and most people join in.” While 10-year-old Jessica Hall added: “It makes me feel happier to see my friends getting involved and I get my family to be more healthy too as it’s important for all of us.”
KCC Director of Public Health, Andrew Scott-Clark said: “We wholeheartedly support the Change4Life and 10 Minute Shake Up campaigns in Kent and love that schoolchildren are becoming champions on this issue to encourage their friends and family. To maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, we all need to both eat well and move more. Even making small changes can help families to live healthier and longer lives.”
You can see the Cecil Road Primary School Champions in action at https://vimeo.com/225390405 More information on the KCC Change4Life Kent campaign, plus lots of fun apps and 100 summer activities can be found at www.kent.gov.uk/change4life
To help kids in the South East do more activity throughout the summer holidays, Change4Life is today launching its 10 Minute Shake Ups programme with Disney and schools across the country. The activities, designed for children to do anywhere in small or large groups with their friends, help children get more of the 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity they need each day for healthy development and to maintain a healthy weight.
Angela Baker, Deputy Director, Health and Wellbeing for Public Health England South East, said: “Whether it is playing balloon volleyball with the Frozen characters, circuit training with Toy Story heros or hopping with Judy from Zootropolis – this campaign is a chance to get children in the area excited about exercise. It is worrying that we are seeing so many more children leave primary school overweight than started, and we hope our Disney-inspired programme is one way of helping to reduce this.”
