What does it take to Eat Like A Champ? TV presenter Helen Skelton today visited two primary schools in the South London borough of Lambeth to teach Year 5-pupils just that. The children, aged between 9 and 10, from the Henry Fawcett Primary School and the Christ Church Streatham CofE Primary School, engaged in different activities to learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet in a fun way. This included an inspirational speech from Helen Skelton, fruit and vegetable tasting, and making a healthy lifestyle pledge.
Helen Skelton attended in her role as ambassador for Eat Like A Champ, a free, evidence-based healthy eating education programme developed by Danone in collaboration with the British Nutrition Foundation (www.eatlikeachamp.co.uk). Aimed at primary school children aged 9-10 across the UK, the campaign aims to make healthy eating exciting and inspire them to adopt the healthy choices of champions they admire.
Helen Skelton explains why she is passionate about encouraging healthy habits from a young age: “The two events today have been fantastic. I just loved meeting the children and talking to them about healthy eating, hydration, and staying active. They were very curious and really got into the different activities, which is always great to see.”
“Childhood obesity and poor nutrition is a real problem, and Eat Like A Champ is great for teaching children about healthy lifestyles at a crucial time in their lives, when they are becoming more responsible for making their own food and lifestyle choices. The positive habits that children learn now can benefit them for the rest of their lives!”
Todays’ events have been organised in partnership with Healthy Schools London, which is part of the Great London Authority. Helen's visits were a prize won by the borough of Lambeth for signing up the most Year 5 classes to the Eat Like A Champ programme as part of a competition held at the end of last year.
Deputy Mayor for Education and Childcare, Joanne McCartney, said: “To build a healthier future for London we must start with our children and make healthy living a habit, not a chore. These schools are doing exactly what we want to see more of; learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet in a fun way. I’m delighted that Lambeth has had so many pupils take part in the Eat Like A Champ programme. Well done to all the teachers and pupils who are championing healthy eating - I want to encourage all of the capital’s schools to follow in their footsteps and sign up to Healthy Schools London.”
All Eat Like A Champ materials are free, available digitally and as a hard copy toolkit. Parents or teachers who would like to get their school involved can get in touch by contacting eatlikeachamp@danone.com