DH NEWS

Change4Life survey says: Too many children not getting enough exercise

24 April 2009

New Change4Life advert to get the nation moving

Results from a massive survey of Change4Life families show that almost three quarters (72 per cent) of their children are not getting 60 minutes of daily activity outside of school. The campaign's new TV ad, which launches today, urges families get up and about more in an effort to cut levels of obesity.

The 'How Are The Kids Survey', launched in January, is the biggest national survey of children's diet and activity levels, and received more than 260,000 responses from families across England.
The survey of change4life families also found that 45 per cent of their kids watched TV or played non-active video games before school, and only 22 per cent did something active after their evening meal.

Since the survey began, families have been sent tailor made support packs to help them make small but important changes to their daily routines. A new Change4Life advert focusing on getting families more active, hits screens today and will add encouragement to that support.

The new advert responds to the need for families to get more physical activity into their daily routines - to make sure that the energy in, is matched by the energy out.

The ad features the Change4Life family as they realise that 'sitting around doing nothing' can lead to a build up of fat in their bodies that can cause diseases such as type two diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

The family find lots of fun ways to get their kids 60 active minutes - playing in the park, walking to school and playing with active computer games where kids need to jump and dance around.

Dawn Primarolo, Minister for Public Health said: "Our survey shows that kids just aren't getting up and about as much as they should. If we're going to cut obesity levels our children need to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.

"Families up and down the country are getting tailor made action plans from Change4Life, and our new ads will give additional encouragement to help families feel the difference.

"By eating better and moving more, we can all live longer and healthier lives. With continued support from Change4Life this can be a reality for every family in England."

Ends.

Change4Life Branding Guidelines

The chances are that if you are reading this you're already thinking of using Change4Life branding in your areas of work. Well, we all know how confusing this issue can be so we thought we'd give you a few tips on what to do. Here's a few bits we've taken from the national guidelines to help you out:

• Any communication that uses the Change4Life branding (or sub brands) must support our goal of encouraging desired changes in behaviour as regards both diet and activity levels.
  
• It is better to get a professional designer to help you design posters and leaflets.
  
• You must also include the following copy in one or more of your communication channels; “To maintain a healthy weight, we need to both eat well and move more. Many families are making changes that will help them live healthier and longer. Visit www.nhs.uk/Change4Life or call 0300 123 3434 for more information.”
  
• Services or products provided or commissioned by the NHS or local government can use the branding as long as they relate to food and/or activity and are not clinical solutions (eg bariatric surgery)
  
• You mustn't prefix the 4Life with your own organisation eg NHS Leeds4Life is not allowed.
  
• There are some sub-brands that you can use: breakfast4life, cook4life, play4life, dance4life, walk4life, swim4life, bike4life
  
• A whole alphabet of characters is available and can be used to spell words out that relate to food or exercise. However you are not allowed to use the brand style with a completely different logo eg bike4ever. The logo must always be XXXX4Life
  
• Most importantly, the brand looks ahead. It does not look back, or blame, or criticise. It offers help for the future. Its aim is to improve the future life expectancy of a generation (and generations to come) and to promote happy memories.

You can get a full copy of the branding guidelines by emailing change4life@nhsleeds.nhs.uk or ringing Alison Cater (3057581), Fran Hewitt (3057505) or Phil Slater (2953094).

Give us your questions - have you got any queries or comments about the C4L branding? Why not post your comments on this blog or send them to the email above.

Happy branding!

Getting Fruity at the White Rose Centre!

Change4Life visited the White Rose Centre on Friday 13th to encourage parents to fill out their How's the Kids? survey.

Also on offer was the opportunity to try a few fruity smoothies and have a general chat about the campaign.

NHS Leeds Health Improvement Specialists Emma Strachan and Alison Cater went along to check out the stall - which is part of the national promotional work ongoing across the UK.

How's the Kids? is being co-ordinated nationally although it is expected that the information gathered will be filtered down to regions so we can use it to inform our C4L plans locally.

Change4Life. What’s it all about?

So, we’ve all been talking about Change4Life for a good few months now. And we know it’s about eating well, moving more and living longer. But what are we meant to do next?

Well, that’s where this blog comes in! A group of us from healthcare, education and sport and recreation have gotten together to look at ways we can all keep in touch and share ideas on how to introduce Change4Life into our everyday work with kids, parents and the wider population of Leeds.

We’ll be regularly updating these pages with news and events, latest campaign information and case studies of people in Leeds who are already using the Change4Life campaign locally to great effect.

A variety of bloggers will be giving you the news and views from their area. You can also join in by submitting comments on new blog postings or by emailing your news to change4life@nhsleeds.nhs.uk