Scheme helps overweight children

Children learn to eat healthily and have more active lifestyles

A nine-week programme for overweight or obese children and their parents will help youngsters in Guildford towards a healthier lifestyle.

Families are now being recruited on to the scheme which will run this autumn.

The community-based Mend programme, which stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do-it!, is targeting children aged between seven and 13.

Councillor Andrew Hodges said the Surrey authority was backing the scheme in order to promote health.

"We feel that the health and well-being of all our residents is an important issue," he said.

'Living healthily'

The free programme is being run by Guildford Borough Council, Surrey Primary Care Trust and the nutrition and dietetics service at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

It is part of an England-wide lottery-funded initiative.

Earlier this year, experts said the scheme was highly successful.

Paul Sacher, research director of the programme and an honorary specialist dietician at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said the focus of the programme was not weight loss.

"Weight is just one of the things we measure. It's more about living healthily," he said.

The programme involves the whole family and aims to teach both parents and children about healthy attitudes and behaviours relating to eating and activity. It also helps children to see being active as fun.