Healthy Hebridean Kids has arrived!

NHS Western Isles is excited to announce the  launch of its fresh new campaign, ‘Healthy Hebridean Kids', helping local parents, family members and carers of children aged 3-6 years to be healthier and happier by making healthier lifestyle choices.

Hosted by the Western Isles Maternal & Infant Nutrition (MIN) Group, Healthy Hebridean Kids recognises the impact that having an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise can have on our overall health and fitness, mental health and mobility.  

A series of posters featuring local children will be run on social media and feature within local communities, with each one offering advice and useful tips on the things parents and carers can do to encourage healthy living habits in children.  These are aimed to help raise awareness with parents, grandparents and carers about child portion sizes, healthier foods and snacks, suitable lunchboxes, as well as information on eating fewer high-calorie foods which contain high levels of fat, sugar and salt, and the long-term risks associated to sitting for long periods and moving less.

In addition, a Healthy Hebridean Kids website has also been developed to further help parents, carers and staff and can be viewed at: www.healthyhebrideankids.scot.nhs.uk

The user-friendly and easy-to-navigate website offers information on food and eating, portion size (appropriate to age), local activities for pre-school and primary school children, family recipes, packed lunch ideas, and ideas for fussy eaters.  The new payment card ‘Best Start Foods' which helps eligible families receive extra money to buy certain food is included, as well as a section on Child Weight. 

The Child Weight section offers support if a parent/guardian has any concerns about their child's weight, or would like to further discuss or self-refer their child to the new local Healthy Hebridean Kids Child Weight Programme.

The programme offers one-to-one family-based sessions with a registered dietitian and they may be seen fortnightly for the first 12 weeks and then less often as progress.  If required, the family will be supported for at least a year, but this can be extended if necessary.  In addition to the nutritional input, you and your child/family may also be offered some personal physical activity sessions with an appropriately trained instructor, which will be discussed during the sessions.

Parents will already be aware that their family's Health Visitor measures each child around their 4th birthday and also when they attend Primary 1, and this can be when health and education professionals can notice an increase in a child's weight.  This could be due to a number of reasons, but when this happens parents will also be encouraged to refer their child to the Healthy Hebridean Kids Child Weight Programme.

With almost 1 in 5 children being overweight or obese when they start primary school, rising to 1 in 3 when they start secondary school (source RCPCH), Healthy Hebridean Kids is keen to raise awareness of the benefits of making small dietary changes to help to reduce childhood obesity, starting from pre-school. 

Future plans include nursery/sgoil-àraich staff receiving additional education and support on how they can best support local families by offering healthy eating and lifestyle advice, on what can sometimes be an emotive subject. 

For further information visit the Healthy Hebridean Kids website at: www.healthyhebrideankids.scot.nhs.uk