Overweight nine to 12 year-olds are being targeted as part of a HSE West programme aimed at halting the trend towards weight gain in children.
Its health promotion department in conjuction with Titans Basketball Club is launching a free 12-week physical activity and lifestyle awareness initiative for children in the city.
The programme, called “BOUNCE - Built to Move”, aims to stop and reverse this trend through increased physical activity, nutrition and basic lifestyle changes to daily living. It will run twice a week for one hour from June 13.
An information evening, geared at parents and health professionals, will take place on Wednesday May 25 at Westside Community Centre from 7pm to 8pm. Dr Francis Finucane, an endocrinologist and the head of the weight management treatment service at Galway University Hospitals, will address the meeting. There will be an opportunity for parents and health professionals to find out more about the programme, ask questions and pre-register their children. The HSE has contacted all GPs in the city about the programme to seek their help in informing parents who may be interested in their child taking part.
A 2009 study of 8,000 nine-year-olds found that more than one in four were either overweight or obese. The HSE West says a major cause of this is the modern environment in which we live that “makes the unhealthy choice the easy option”.
The health authority stresses that its initiative is not a weight reduction or diet programme for children.
“The aim is to help prevent overweight children from putting on any more weight so that they can grow into their present weight. This is what health professionals term ‘healthy weight maintenance in the growing child.’”
It warns that carrying excess weight will affect both children’s current and future health.
Paul Gillen, health promotion officer with the HSE West, says it is delighted to work with Titans Basketball Club in offering this free gym-based programme for nine to 12 year-olds.
“Titans have over 400 children and adults playing basketball on a regular basis for both exercise and competition but above all for fun, with an emphasis on participation for all. The great advantage is that just like riding a bike everyone can play basketball once they are taught a few simple skills. Hopefully these skills will stay with these children right through their adolescence and into adulthood.”
The HSE West says parents will be encouraged to “actively engage” in the programme. “Some information sessions for parents will take place while their child is having fun during gym sessions. The children too will learn about good nutrition, what’s in food and soft drinks and correct portion size. There will be practical sessions on food choices and how to make their own healthy snacks.
“Parents will be kept informed as to their child’s progress during the programme through review sessions with experienced health professionals. These and other supports provided to the children and their parents will help them to make the healthy choice the easy choice. Small simple lifestyle changes will not only help the children be healthier but will promote better health for the whole family.”
For further information on the “BOUNCE - Built to Move” programme contact the HSE West Health Promotion Department at (091 ) 548323.
