Nestlé backs healthy eating programme (From York Press)

Nestlé backs healthy eating programme

10:44am Thursday 27th September 2012 in News By Nadia Jefferson-Brown, nadia.jefferson-brown@thepress.co.uk

A FRESH bid to tackle obesity among schoolchildren around the globe is being backed by a major cash boost from York-based Nestlé UK.

The company hopes its support will help to reach out to 76,000 children by 2015 through a new healthy kids programme by teaming up with PhunkyFoods, an independent curriculum-based healthy eating and activity programme.

Nestlé is supporting PhunkyFoods with £820,000 on a three-year project – aiming to target an extra 339 UK primary schools and supporting research by Leeds Metropolitan University to measure the impact of regular healthy lifestyle lessons on children’s health.

PhunkyFoods was founded in 2005 in response to the Government’s White Paper Choosing Health 2004 which stressed that the UK’s obesity epidemic was the shared responsibility of the food industry, government, parents and schools. Its programme aims to improve the body mass index of children and to tackle childhood obesity across the UK.

The editorial content of its curriculum, website and resources are written by registered nutritionists and consultant teachers, independent of any company or product branding. Nestlé UK will fund the programme as part of its global Healthy Kids initiative, designed to raise nutrition, health and wellness awareness of school-age children around the world.

Liz Read, nutritionist at Nestlé UK said: “Our global Healthy Kids programme is making a tangible difference to children’s understanding of nutrition and health right across the world. Drawing on this breadth of expertise, our new UK programme represents a significant investment in health education for children in our communities. We are very excited about the programme’s potential in terms of direct health benefits to the 76,000 children involved.”

Dr Jennie Cockroft, PhunkyFoods co-founder, said: “We understand the serious issues schools face regarding lack of funding. Our partnership with Nestlé UK will have a profound and positive impact on tackling the worrying trend of childhood obesity in the UK.”