Pupils get plum role in bid to combat childhood obesity

London primary schools will be leading the way in a UK-wide initiative involving over 3,000 children to help combat childhood obesity.

Schools in Camden, Westminster and the City have signed up to the new initiative, called Activ-eat, developed for schools by health and care company Bupa. The initiative comes amid growing concerns over childhood obesity in the UK, with one in four children starting school overweight or obese. It follows the announcement last week, by health secretary Alan Johnson, of a pilot scheme offering children free school meals to encourage healthy eating.

Activ-eat encourages children aged between six to nine to learn about healthy eating and exercise in a fun and memorable way. Teams of Bupa volunteers will be visiting primary schools armed with exotic fruits and juicers, to give children the chance to make healthy smoothie drinks, taste fruits from around the world and play games which highlight the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. Children will also be given a pedometer at the end of each Activ-eat session to encourage them to do more physical activity and will be left with a three-week challenge to eat five items of fruit and vegetables a day.

Bupa has designed Activ-eat to support the Government's National Healthy Schools Programme and to show its commitment to combatting childhood obesity. The company will be dedicating over 1,600 man-hours to the initiative in the coming year, with each Activ-eat session staffed by specially trained Bupa volunteers.

Angela Abrahams, head teacher at St Clement Danes primary school in Westminster, said: "It's vital that children learn the importance of healthy eating as early as possible. Because they often learn best when they are relaxed and having fun, Activ-eat has the potential to make a real difference to how children view fruit and vegetables. Hopefully, it will make some get a taste for healthy foods they might not otherwise have tried. We welcome this initiative."

Nicole Humphreys, community relations manager at Bupa, commented: "Research clearly shows that childhood obesity is on the increase across the UK and we want to make sure we are playing a part in combating this problem. We've had great feedback from both teachers and parents who took part in the initial pilot of Activ-eat and we now plan to reach well over 3,000 children through the UK-wide launch of the initiative. We are also pleased to be supporting the National Healthy Schools programme and to be providing primary schools with ongoing support through a series of information booklets throughout the year, offering parents dietary advice for their children."

Bupa plans to deliver its Activ-eat programme to 3,240 children across 27 schools in the UK by the end of 2009. The initiative will begin in London in November.