Back in April, fifteen children and their parents began a ten week course to become fitter and healthier whilst building confidence and having fun. | "If children can learn that a healthy active family life is fun they are more likely to adopt it when they become adults." | | Lynne Potter, South Cambs District Council |
The project, 'To Energise And Motivate' (TEAM), encourages overweight 8-11 year olds and their families to lead a healthy active lifestyle through a combination of sport, nutritional advice and confidence building. Funded by South Cambridgeshire District Council and the Primary Care Trust (PCT), TEAM uses fitness experts, sports coaches, dieticians and the PCT child and family team to help families lead a healthy lifestyle together.
With workshops taking place every Saturday at Comberton Leisure Centre, children can try sports from athletics to roller-blading while parents join their own exercise class. Family workshops cover healthy eating and confidence building issues like food labelling and dealing with stress and bullying. So after five weeks of healthy eating sessions, confidence building workshops and lots of fitness and fun, how are the families getting on? We spoke to two families to find out... Ruth Waight and her eight-year-old daughter Georgia have been taking part in the project... We asked Georgia how she's finding the course... Georgia's Halfway Update: Why did you decide to get involved in the TEAM project?
"Mrs Ward (my class teacher) suggested the club as a way to help me make new friends (as two of my friends recently moved to Singapore) and also to help make PE a bit easier. I like PE but find it hard." What have you been doing at the sessions?
"I've been playing loads of different team sports to see if I like some more than others so that I might start to play them more often. I've also been learning about healthy eating and living, especially about how we need to eat a balanced diet. We have also started to talk about ourselves and how others behave around us." Have you noticed any improvements in your health and fitness since the sessions started, and how does this make you feel?
"I'm finding PE at school a bit easier, which makes me feel more a part of the class than before. I've been eating a more balanced diet and I feel better because of it. I've got more energy." What's been the hardest part of the course?
"Michael, the PE coach, keeps saying I need to do more energetic exercise - about 30/40 mins at least four times a week. It's really hard to find the time to do this. We set goals in our healthy eating session, and I find it hard to stick to these all the time."
What's been the most fun part of the course?
"The most fun part is playing lots of different games with the PE coaches. They make running around really fun!" What have you learnt so far, and what do you hope to achieve at the end of the course?
"I've learnt a lot about healthy eating, eating less fat and more fruit and vegetables, rather than chocolate, sweets and crisps. I want to have a healthy lifestyle, so that when I'm older I'm not ill. "While I have the exercise sessions with the PE coaches, my mum and some of the other parents go down to the CB3 gym for an hour and do a workout. She's really enjoying it and feels loads better, because she is getting more regular exercise and eating more healthily too. Mum is helping me with my goals, and aiming for them too. "I'm going to be a bridesmaid in the summer of next year, and would like to look really nice in my dress. This has really helped me be enthusiastic about the course, as hopefully the exercise and healthy eating will bring my weight down as I get a bit taller." Isobel's Halfway Update: Nine-year-old Isobel Martin and her mum Anne wanted to get fitter, so they thought that Team Project would be a good way to learn more about eating the right things and to get ideas for exercising while having fun. Isobel tells us more about how the course has affected them so far:
 | | Isobel on roller-blades! |
"Mum didn't like exercising, but going on the course has motivated her to use the Gym which she'd never got around to doing properly before, and she's found that she actually enjoys doing it and feels really good afterwards. I enjoy trying-out the different sports and have used the opportunity to make some new friends. "We had great fun the other weekend after a session with the dietician where she'd told us about finding out how healthy foods were by reading the labels on the packaging. Afterwards, we went to Tesco and I challenged my brother to see how many foods he could find with a low fat content. It was the first time we'd enjoyed shopping and we came home with some new healthy foods to try." Mum Anne says: "As a family we have been motivated by the course and the children have started to make an effort to exercise more as we do things together and it helps us feel better about ourselves." Healthy for life Lynne Potter, health and exercise development coordinator at South Cambridgeshire District Council said: "Parents in general are concerned at the reported increase in childhood obesity. If children can learn that a healthy active family life is fun they are more likely to adopt it when they become adults." A successful 2004 course saw children's waist sizes and body mass index drop and stamina and activity levels improve. Parents also reported improved confidence and a reduction in time spent watching TV or playing computer games as children discovered different activities. Individual assessments will be made at the end of May and there is a review of the team goals after each session. For more information about the project contact South Cambridgeshire District Council on 01954 713289. | 
