Keeping Healthy

 

Grove Primary participated in the British Nutrition Foundation's Healthy Eating Week. This annual event promotes the importance of balanced diets and healthy lifestyles for children. Throughout the week, pupils will engage in fun, educational activities focused on five key challenges:

 

1. Have Breakfast
   Eating a nutritious breakfast provides energy to start the day right.
2. Have 5 A Day
   We'll encourage pupils to eat five portions of fruits and vegetables daily.
3. Drink Plenty
   Staying hydrated is crucial, so we'll remind children to drink water regularly.
4. Get Active
   Physical activity helps maintain a healthy weight and supports overall well-being.
5. Sleep Well
   Adequate, good-quality sleep is essential for growth and development.

 

To support this initiative at home, we encourage you to discuss healthy eating habits with your children. The British Nutrition Foundation's website, www.foodafactoflife.org.uk, offers valuable resources, including tips for making healthier swaps when grocery shopping.

 

Additionally, the NHS Food Scanner App (https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/food-facts/nhs-food-scanner-app/) can help you make informed choices by scanning product barcodes and providing nutritional information. 

 

All the following information can be found on the Healthy Eating website:

http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/index.aspx

Get active for at least 60 minutes

every day – move more!

Why is it important to be active?

 Being active helps improve cardiovascular health (heart and blood vessels), strengthens muscle and bone, and helps maintain a healthy body weight. Being active can also help relieve stress and lift mood – improving mental and physical health. Children and young people (aged 5 to 18 years) should do 60 minutes of physical activity daily, ranging from moderate to vigorous. On three days of the week, this should include exercises to strengthen muscles and bones, such as gymnastics, swinging on playground equipment bars, playing tennis, sit-ups or press-ups or football.

 What activities count towards the 60 minutes?

Moderate activities

These make you feel warmer, breathe harder and make the heart beat faster. One way to tell if you are working at a moderate level is if you can still talk but can’t sing the words to a song. Examples include walking to school, playing in the playground, riding a scooter, and walking the dog.

Vigorous activities

These make you feel warmer, breathe much harder and make the heart beat rapidly. If you are working at this level, you won’t be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath. Examples include playing chase, swimming, football, and martial arts. 

What else do your pupils need to do to be healthy?

In addition to meeting these recommendations for physical activity, it is also important that pupils reduce the amount of time spent sitting, watching TV, playing computer games, and travelling by car when they can walk or cycle instead.   Sedentary behaviour is bad for health – over time, it can lead to weight gain and obesity, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases over time, such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The easiest way to get moving is to make activities part of everyday life, such as walking or cycling to school, using the stairs instead of the lift, dancing to music and limiting screen time. 

The Super Challenge

Do 60 minutes of a different activity on each day of the Week!

Drink Plenty

Water is a great choice!

Why do we need to drink plenty?

Water is essential for life, and it is important to stay hydrated to function well. Water is provided by almost all drinks and some foods. Water makes up around 60% of the body and is needed for many different functions, such as regulating body temperature. As water is constantly lost (e.g. through the skin as sweat, lungs for breathing, and going to the toilet), it is important to drink plenty throughout the day to avoid dehydration. Mild dehydration can make it more difficult to concentrate and cause headaches and tiredness. 

The UK Government recommends having at least 6-8 drinks daily, as shown in the Eatwell Guide. (This is in addition to any water provided by food in the diet.) Younger pupils usually need smaller drink servings (150-200ml) than older pupils and adults (250-300ml). The amount of fluid needed depends on many factors, including body size and composition, the environment (e.g. how hot it is), and physical activity levels. Sometimes, more than 6-8 drinks will be needed.

What are healthy drink choices?

Water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks are all healthier choices.

Water is a good choice throughout the day because it hydrates without providing extra energy (kilocalories/kilojoules) or risking harm to teeth.

Lower-fat milk: For example, semi-skimmed, 1%, skimmed or unsweetened, calcium-fortified milk alternatives (e.g., soya and nut drinks).

Fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies: These drinks provide vitamins and minerals and can contain fibre. However, they are also a source of free sugars (the type of sugar all groups of the population need to reduce) and can be acidic. They are recommended to be limited to one small glass (150ml) a day and consumed with meals. 

The Super Challenge

Over a week, try three different drinks you haven't had before. Try making vegetable juice, cucumber-infused water, or iced herbal tea.

The 5 a day Challenge

The poster below details the challenge. More information can be found on the above website.

Breakfast-The Challenge

Have a healthy breakfast daily – go for wholegrain or higher fibre foods, including a drink and at least one of your 5 A DAY!

The Super Challenge

Have a different healthy breakfast every day for a week!

Breakfast is recommended as part of a healthy diet and helps to get the day off to a good start. A healthy breakfast should provide around 20% of daily energy requirements and some of the nutrients the body needs for good

health, such as starchy carbohydrates, fibre, B vitamins, iron and calcium. Some studies suggest that having a healthy breakfast can help to improve cognitive function and academic performance.

Higher-fibre, wholegrain varieties of starchy foods

For example, wholegrain, low-sugar breakfast cereals, porridge and wholemeal toast. These starchy carbohydrates provide energy and fibre, which helps keep the digestive system healthy. Some breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, such as riboflavin, iron, thiamin, folic acid, and vitamin D. Encourage pupils to choose breakfast cereals that are lower in salt and sugars – older pupils can do this by looking at the nutrition label on the packaging.

5 A DAY

Fruit and vegetables, whether fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or juiced, all count towards 5 A DAY. Examples include sliced bananas as a topping for breakfast cereal, mashed avocado on wholemeal toast, or dried fruit sprinkled over porridge. Fruit juice and/or smoothies count towards one portion of 5 A DAY but should be limited to a combined total of 150ml per day. Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, and some fibre.

A drink

For example, water, lower-fat milk, or 150ml unsweetened fruit juice/smoothie. If pupils are starting to drink tea or coffee, it is best that they are decaffeinated varieties served with lower-fat milk and no added sugars.

Including a drink with breakfast helps the body start the day hydrated.

Dairy foods such as milk, yoghurt, cheese, or alternatives can be used at breakfast time. Dairy alternatives, such as soya drinks, should be unsweetened and calcium-fortified. These foods provide calcium, which is needed to help develop and maintain healthy bones and teeth.

 A source of protein, such as eggs or beans, could also be included with breakfast.

Other resources to help you and your family :

Healthy eating and drinking

Change4Life Food Scanner - an app that shows everyday foods' sugar, saturated fat, and salt content.

Change4life Smart Recipes - healthy recipe ideas.

NHS Calorie Checker - check the calories of over 150,000 food and drinks.

NHS Healthy Breakfasts - healthy breakfast ideas.

One You ‘Do You Like a Drink?’ - tips on how to drink less alcohol.

The Eatwell Guide Booklet - explains the Eatwell Guide and how to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.

Physical activity

Cyclescheme - employee benefits scheme to help cover the cost of cycling to work.

Doing Sport Differently - a guide to exercise and fitness for people living with a disability or health conditions.

NHS Couch to 5K - a running plan for beginners.

Walk4Life - supported by Walk England to encourage people to walk more.

Health

Business in the Community Toolkits - focused on healthy eating, physical activity, sleep recovery and mental wellbeing in the workplace.

MIND Mentally Healthy Workplaces - guide to help workplaces support the mental well-being of employees.

NHS Apps Library - digital tools to help manage and improve health.

NHS Healthy Weight Calculator - an online Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator.

NHS Smokefree - online support and resources to help quit smoking for good.

NHS Weight Loss Guide - advice on healthy eating and physical activity.

One You ‘How Are You?’ - an online quiz from Public Health England generating personalised health advice based on your lifestyle.

Health organisations

British Heart Foundation - provides information about heart health and ideas for health-focused workplace activities.

Diabetes UK - provides information about the care and prevention of diabetes.

Drinkaware - provides information to help make better choices about alcohol.

MIND - mental health awareness charity providing information and support.

World Cancer Research Fund - provides information on healthy lifestyles in relation to cancer risk and prevention.