Health info for Waveney parents
Parents of year six pupils living in Yarmouth and Waveney are to receive a wealth of information on leading a healthy lifestyle along with letters telling them if their children are a healthy weight.
Parents of year six pupils living in Yarmouth and Waveney are to receive a wealth of information on leading a healthy lifestyle along with letters telling them if their children are a healthy weight.
During the next two months 10 and 11-year-olds in schools across the area will have their height and weight measured as part of the National Child Measurement Programme.
NHS Yarmouth and Waveney will then write to parents giving them the results, along with information on healthy eating, easy ways to fit activity into everyday life and where to go locally for more support.
It is hoped the initiative will aid parents in helping their child maintain a healthy weight while raising awareness of the steps they can take to live a healthier lifestyle.
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Dr Alistair Lipp, NHS Yarmouth and Waveney's director of public health, said: “Being overweight can seriously damage people's health, while leading to major problems later in life, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
“We are committed to supporting families to help their children move towards a healthy weight, and have a number of free initiatives in place to encourage healthy eating and exercise. Some of these are tailored specifically towards children, such as MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition… Do it!) and Activ8 It Plus, and are proven to work extremely well.
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“We would encourage anyone who would like extra help to lead a healthier lifestyle to get in touch to find out how we can help.”
Results are now sent directly to parents following a change in national policy, a NHS Yarmouth and Waveney spokesman said.
The move comes after research showed that the majority of parents would like to receive the information, either because it may help them monitor their child's health or work as a general aid to understanding healthy weight.
Further research shows that most parents of children who are above their ideal weight think that their child is healthy, with only 10pc of them describing their child as overweight.
Marisa Fox, Waveney school nursing team leader, said: “Giving parents information about their child's measurements is really important, as it can help raise their awareness of potential problems so that they can take positive steps to change their lifestyles.
“A huge range of help is available both inside and out of school. We would urge parents who are interested in accessing these initiatives, which include sports and activity clubs, to ask their school nurse for more information.”
More information about healthy lifestyle initiatives running across the area is available by visiting www.gywpct.nhs.uk and clicking on the “healthy lives” tab. Alternatively, contact the Healthy Life team on 01493 859205 or by email at gyw-pct.healthylife@nhs.net .
