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MEND

What is MEND?
A free fun programme for children to become fitter, healthier and happier!

The MEND Programme is a fun, effective and practical lifestyle solution focused on families with unhealthy children. The key to its success is an integrated approach, combining all of the elements known to help weight management and ensure long lasting results.

The MEND Programme includes games, physical activities, nutrition sessions, a supermarket tour and a recipe-tasting evening. Behavioural management techniques will also be used to encourage children and their parents/carers to be more active and change their eating habits.

MEND stands for:

• Mind - understanding and changing unhealthy attitudes and behaviours around food.
• Exercise - adequate, safe - and above all fun - exercise.
• Nutrition - enjoyable, practical activities that teach children about healthy eating and daily meal planning to improve the whole family's diet.
• Do it!

Who is it for?

• Do you have children 7 to 13 years old?
• Are you worried they might be unhealthy or even overweight?
• The MEND programme gets kids healthy and fit in only 10 weeks - and helps them stay that way!

Find out about other families having fun on the MEND programme by visiting www.mendprogramme.org Opens in a new window and click the "Testimonials" link in the menu on the left.

When does it start?
The Surrey Heath MEND programme starts on the 10th May 2010 and will run for ten weeks on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4.30 - 6.30pm. The MEND Programme requires at least one parent or adult career to attend each session with their child, as the programme aims to improve the entire family's eating and exercise habits, thereby promoting sustained improvements in overall health, fitness and wellbeing. MEND is not a diet, and the focus is not on simply losing weight.

How do I know if my child qualifies?
The programme is completely free, but we will need to assess whether your child qualifies based on their age, weight and health.

How healthy is your child's weight?
It is really hard for you to know whether your child is active enough, eats healthily or is a healthy weight.

MEND aims to help you and your child to make small changes that improve health, self-esteem, physical skills and help children to grow into a healthier weight.

To see where your child's weight fits, follow this link to the Body Mass Index calculator www.mendprogramme.org Opens in a new window, you will need to input your child's height (meters), weight (kilograms), date of birth and gender, and it will produce a graph showing where your child currently is.

If you would like to sign up for the MEND Programme in Surrey Heath or would like more information please contact Gary Clifford on 01276 707272 or email leisure.services@surreyheath.gov.uk.

Further details on the MEND Programme are available at: www.mendprogramme.org Opens in a new window