Wiltshire parents warned to keep children's weight healthy despite cost of living challenges
Being overweight in childhood can lead to serious illness
Parents in Wiltshire are being urged to keep their children active and healthy despite the challenges provided by the cost of living crisis.
It follows a study in a Germany finding that childhood obesity can cut life expectancy in half - but regaining a healthy childhood weight can prolong life.
Public Health Practitioner at Wiltshire Council, Maddy Bune, told Greatest Hits Radio all children deserve the chance to be healthy regardless of their background.
She said "We know that being a healthy weight will reduce the risk of many health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and poor mental health."
Ms Bune added that these health risks can be carried into adulthood: "If children are living obesity in childhood those risk factors will develop across their life course and as they enter adulthood, the percentage of them experiencing those risk factors, are at an increased risk."
She's encouraging parents to promote a healthy lifestyle through the food they eat, including eating various fruit and vegetables and limiting the amount of processed food they consume, as well as regular physical activity.
But she admits, that circumstances might make that tricky for some families.
"With the cost of living crisis, we can't ignore that and many families will be facing food insecurity and that's a significant factor for many families," she said.
However, the council have a number of programmes available to parents and children to help them ensure healthy living for the whole family.
The 'Pokémon GO style' app getting Wiltshire's kids active
One way the council is encouraging children to be active is through the Street Tag app.
It works in a similar way to Pokémon GO, where we mix the virtual world with the real one. The app has virtual 'tags' that children can collect by walking, cycling, run or rolling (for wheelchair users) around their community.
There's a leader board for schools and individuals to sign up to, with each tag carrying an amount of points, meaning children need to "catch 'em all".
Children are also being taught about healthy living through a school programme called Funky Foods, where cooking classes are delivered in schools to boost the pupils environment of health and well-being.
There's a second element to Funky Foods, which is delivered in the community, through children's centres. Here families can access support around fun cooking and tasting foods they might not have done so before.
In Bemerton Heath, just outside Salisbury, there's the 'Health Me' programme which supports families around easting lifestyles and physical activity, offering families the chance to work with new foods and learn recipes to take home.
"Each week is very different in its delivery as it's decided by families who attend the session," Ms Bune said.
Finally there's the Healthy Movers scheme, which aims to boost children's physical, social and emotional and emotional well-being development through physical activity.