Amanda Holden is helping to support the campaign this year
Parents and teachers are one step closer to convincing children to eat healthily, according to an independent assessment of a healthy eating initiative run by food producer Danone.
Eat Like a Champ is an award-winning healthy eating education programme for primary schools created by Danone UK in collaboration with the British Nutrition Foundation, in support of Change 4 Life.
Originally launched in 2010 with 25 London school classes, last year the programme ran in 500 classes across the UK and is on target to reach 1,000 school classes in 2013.
Amanda Holden is now supporting the campaign, she said: “Eat Like A Champ is a fantastic programme for children, teachers, and parents alike to get involved with. I’m such a big supporter of initiatives that get children interested and excited about eating well, as it will benefit them throughout their life. As a parent myself, I understand how good nutrition is vital for good health and essential for healthy development and growth.”
Eat Like A Champ’s objective is to help tackle the growing issue of poor nutrition amongst children by inspiring them to adopt the healthier eating habits of champions they admire, in this case Diversity street dance troupe, who have been ambassadors of the campaign since 2010.
This year Amanda Holden, mum of two, has joined the campaign and volunteered at Lady Margaret Primary School, Ealing to help educate the children about healthy eating.
Year 5 pupils (aged 9-11) who take part in the course enjoy healthy food tastings; learn about 5-A-Day, nutrients, hydration, healthy lunchboxes and snack swaps.
Following completion of the six week school course, independent charity the Children’s Food Trust found pupils who participated in the Eat Like a Champ programme ate on average an equivalent of two more portions of fruit and vegetables per week, and their consumption of foods such as biscuits and crisps dropped by the equivalent of one chocolate bar per week.
The Children’s Food Trust used a two day checklist of food and drink consumption, completed by over 1,000 pupils immediately before the intervention, just after the intervention at 6 weeks, and again at 12 weeks.
The study found that after just six weeks, children ate 2.2% fewer “less healthy” items and 2.4% more “healthier” items resulting in a net shift of 4.6% toward healthier eating. At 12 weeks, the corresponding figures were 2.8% and 3.2%, resulting in a net shift of 6%.
The study also revealed that by week 12 (after the initial intervention), the most consistent changes in consumption related to milk (from whole milk to semi-skimmed on cereal), more fresh fruit, more water (tap or plain bottle, not flavoured water drinks), fewer cakes, crisps, savoury snacks and sweets.
Unhealthy eating habits of children in the UK coupled with low levels of physical activity are fuelling a rise in obesity. Research shows around 1 in 5 (20.7 per cent - boys and 17.7 per cent -girls) year 6 children are obese. The positive findings following the independent assessment by the Children’s Food Trust show how the Eat Like a Champ programme can help children learn about healthy eating habits.
Marie de Muizon, Head of CSR, Danone UK said:
“This study proves what we suspected and hoped for – Eat Like a Champ works! Children who took part in the campaign changed their eating habits for the better. Poor nutrition amongst children in the UK is such a big issue and we are delighted to now have scientific, independent evidence that Eat Like A Champ can help. Eat Like A Champ is a free intervention that any primary school in the UK can sign up to. We now hope to have a maximum number of schools taking part to see as many children as possible improving their diet!”
Dr Michael Nelson, Director of Research at The Children’s Food Trust, who led the research, said:
“Our evaluation shows the Eat Like a Champ programme helps children to understand more about healthy eating. Schools are in a unique position to help children learn about food and to get into good eating habits from an early age, so they need support to get that consistent message across in every aspect of school life.”
