MEND is a winner
IT'S goodbye to one group of youngsters and hello to another.
A scheme called MEND has just completed a pilot project aimed at children over a healthy weight.
Now it has started up again with more children involved in another part of town.
And the verdict from the first session is .... it's a winner.
But it's not just children who get the benefit of the new classes. Their parents come along to every session so that they can learn ways of encouraging their children.
Jennifer McDermott is the new Community Nutritionist for Hartlepool Borough Council and led the first ten-week course for MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition … Do It!)
She told Health Matters: "It has changed attitudes to food and activity. This is about re-educating the whole family."
Sessions are held twice a week - on Tuesdays and Thursdays - with the first hour covering theory work.
"It's quite fun," says Jennifer. "We get quite specific so that they understand the nature of blood sugar levels and carbohydrates. We get them to play team games."
"Then they go off to the gym with the fitness trainers for their second hour. They do different activities, but it is not about exercise.
"It is about lifestyle. We found that one boy did not lose a lot of weight but his fitness levels really improved. They increased substantially."
That second hour also gives a chance for the MEND team to talk to the parents while the children are in the gym.
That's when topics such as portion controls on meals are discussed.
Jennifer added: "The parents are very positive about it. They say they have learned an awful lot and they want to continue."
Sometimes the sessions don't look at educational issues. They merely discuss topics which are on the parents mind such as bullying.
But it all means parents get a chance to raise the very problems which have played on their mind.
The national initiative for children and their families is just beginning to catch on in North-East England.
Each MEND programme runs for ten weeks and we caught up with Jennifer at a farewell session to her pilot group at St Hild's School.
The fun graduation ceremony saw the first group of children receive a certificate for all their hard work over the ten-week period.
They were treated to healthy MEND-friendly food cooked by Jennifer and some of the children and parents.
The new course has just started at the Brierton Sports Centre last Thursday. Recruitment is still going on and will last until the third week of the course.
For Jennifer, though, it's a time of reflection on a job well done - so far.
One parent really got the message, says Jennifer. Instead of buying their son an Easter egg, they got him a skateboard.
The MEND courses have gone so well, there's plans for a reunion with the families who have taken part so far. Each of them is now armed with fact sheets as well as their new-found knowledge on how to help their children achieve active and healthy lives.
For parents who want to know more about MEND, call Jennifer McDermott on (01429) 284352.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Saturday 26 May 2012
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