Health Matters EBOP July 2016

Raising healthy kids

Connor Edmonds ’ lunchbox , like a lot of children ’ s , used to be loaded with processed foods ; chippies , biscuits , chocolate yoghurt and sandwiches with white bread were the norm .
Mum Ann-Marie is a single parent working full-time , time is precious .
“ I was mindlessly putting these convenient foods in his lunchbox worried that he would go hungry . Without knowing it , I was loading him up with carbs but he wasn ’ t doing the level of activity to burn it off .”
There ’ s a history of diabetes in the family and Connor who is seven was tired and lethargic .
Concerned about where his health was heading , Ann-Marie turned to her GP for help .
“ I didn ’ t want him to battle through life with health issues , I wanted to sort it , and set him on a road to good health .”
Ann-Marie was referred to Sport BOP ’ s Active Families Programme , a service funded by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board , to support , families to make healthier lifestyle choices , through increasing their levels of physical activity and changing their eating habits .
Eastern Bay Active Families Advisor Karen Stanton has around forty children on her books . She worked with Connor and his family setting goals and monthly monitoring their progress . A year on and Connor is a changed boy .
“ He used to spend a fair bit of time watching TV or playing on his x-box . Now he enjoys riding his scooter , his bike and playing at the park ,” says mum Ann-Marie .
Through Active Families , Connor learnt bike road safety skills , the family was

Kids cooking healthy food

Stephen Cameron reckons he ’ s never come across a child who doesn ’ t like learning to cook .
And he ’ d know . The chef has taught around 700 Bay of Plenty kids to cook healthy low cost meals during his time working as an Oral Health Promoter at the Bay of Plenty DHB .
“ Making healthy food choices and having healthy gums and teeth go hand in hand . It makes sense to teach these children and teenagers about cooking healthy meals as well as how to look after their teeth .”
At Tauranga ’ s Merivale Community Centre , Stephen ’ s been running a six week learn to cook class for about twelve young people aged from eight to fourteen who are there for the after school programme .
Centre Manager Tauha Te Kani says Stephen ’ s clearly passionate about teaching them how to cook .
“ It ’ s a real team effort . Stephen shows them how to cook and then stands back and lets them have a go . They ’ ve got to know him , he ’ s built a rapport with them and they love his cooking classes .”
Afterwards the group sits down to enjoy the meal together .
“ We know these young people are getting a healthy meal . And that ’ s when the meal conversation turns to teeth . We talk about looking after your teeth ; which foods cause tooth decay , the importance of brushing and having regular check-ups .
“ Whenever the conversation at Merivale turns to oral health , the kids tell us all about the good food they can eat and the bad food they should stay away from ,” says Tauha .
Stephen says his focus is on making low cost healthy meals . Meals that they can then cook at home for their families .
Tauha says judging from comments from some of the caregivers he ’ s spoken to ; the cooking classes are having an impact .
“ I ’ ve had mums and nans tell me their boys are now keen to cook a meal for the whānau ; they ’ re over the moon .”
The healthy cooking coupled with dental health education programme is being taken into other parts of the Bay of Plenty as well .
Stephen recently held workshops with Youth Guarantee Education groups in Kawerau and with the Salvation Army group in Tauranga .
He ’ s also working with Mama-Pepi groups in Te Puna , Matapihi , Opotiki and Kawerau ; teaching young mums how to cook for their whānau .
“ Showing these mums how to cook healthy low cost meals , encourages healthy eating for them and their family . If we can prevent children suffering from health related conditions such as tooth decay , and obesity by teaching how to cook healthy meals then that ’ s a good thing .”
Connor Edmonds loves eating healthy meals from his portions plate .
also encouraged to find fun ways of getting active such as geocaching or going for walks as the sun goes down or in the rain . And they were taught about making healthy food choices .
“ We were given a plate which visually sets out the portion sizes of the main food groups . It ’ s great for kids , Connor loves it ,” says Ann-Marie .
The processed food in Connor ’ s lunchbox has been replaced with rice snacks , fruit , sandwiches and vegies .
His favourite snack is now celery sticks with peanut butter .
Ann-Marie says his behaviour has improved and he ’ s a much happier kid .
“ With the right fuel , Connor ’ s growing , sleeping better and he ’ s got more ‘ get up and go ’. He ’ s running around being a kid .”
There are calls for more Bay of Plenty schools to go water only to improve the health and teeth of their students .
As part of a nationwide campaign to reduce childhood obesity and reduce the number of children with tooth decay , the Ministries of Health and Education along with other agencies are urging schools to provide a sugary drink free environment .
Toi Te Ora – Public Health Service Medical Officer of Health , Dr Neil de Wet , says ," We all recognise that lollies and chocolate have lots of sugar but it ’ s not that obvious that a 600ml bottle of fizzy drink may contain as much as 16 teaspoons of sugar .
“ Having one or two sugary drinks a day may increase a child ' s risk of being overweight by 50 % and increase the risk of developing type- 2 diabetes by about 25 %.”
A recent survey on the availability of sugary drinks in schools and kura in the Bay of Plenty and Lakes District Health Board areas showed 46 % of schools do not sell sugary drinks and 27 % of students cannot purchase sugary drinks at school .
“ There are a number of schools in the Bay of Plenty that are well ahead and have already removed sugary drinks ,” says Dr de Wet .
At Allandale School in Whakatāne water is
The Ministry of Health has introduced a new health target for all District Health Boards .
By December 2017 , 95 % of obese children identified in the Before School Check ( B4 School Check ) programme will be offered a referral to a health professional for clinical assessment and family based nutrition , activity and lifestyle interventions .

Water only schools the drink of choice .

Schools and kura are encouraged to go water only by the end of the year .
“ Drink sachets , fizzy and caffeine-based drinks are not welcome . Water provides everything our tamariki need to prepare their minds and bodies for learning ,” says Principal Drew Manning .
Te Puke ’ s Fairhaven School has taken a step towards becoming a water only school , installing water coolers in each classroom block .
“ Children should be able to grow up in an environment which enables them to be healthy .
“ Schools and kura can influence not only what happens on school premises , but also what happens in homes and the wider community . Taking the small step to remove sugary drinks in a school can create big change ,” says Dr de Wet .
The World Health Organisation guidelines recommend that a child should have no more than about three or four teaspoons of sugar per day .
It is hoped that all schools will become free of sugary drinks by the end of the year and are supportive of promoting water or plain milk as the preferred drinks for children .
For information on sugary drink free environments visit www . ttophs . govt . nz / sugary _ drinks