Top tips to help children and their families get fitter and healthier in the New Year has been launched today by child obesity experts at MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it!).

Every year in Britain at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, over 80%* of us make a new year’s resolution, unsurprisingly the most common resolution of all is to ‘get fitter’.  However the shocking truth is that over half of us will have failed to keep our resolution by June and only 12% of us will manage to keep our resolutions for the whole year.

James Howes who runs a MEND healthy living programmes in Warrington said; “Most of us know our lifestyles could be healthier but we make the mistake of trying to change too many things at once. It’s especially hard during the cold winter months when there are fewer activities for us to get involved in. To help set achievable goals MEND has come up with some top tips to help families get fit and healthy while having fun.”

MEND Top ten tips to beat the winter blues and hit your new year’s resolution to get fit:

1. Indoor scavenger hunt; hide items around the house and get the family to race who can find them first.
2. Home Circuit; set up any room in the house with areas for stretches, skipping, knee ups, star jumps and any other exercise you can safely do indoors. If you have stairs you can climb these as part of your circuit.
3. Help with the cleaning – giving the house a good old cleaning is a good way to get the family active, this works best with an incentive attached like a trip to the cinema afterwards.
4. Stuck in the mud, three legged race and sack races are really fun and can also get your blood pumping.
5. Indoor climbing wall; many leisure centres offer an indoor climbing wall. You don’t need any experience, but make sure you contact whoever is in charge so they can ‘show you the ropes’.
6. Tobogganing; if we are lucky enough to have some snow this year, dragging your toboggan uphill is a great way to exercise and is even more fun on the way down!
7. Cooking; switch off the TV and get the family to help you prepare a healthy meal or make a healthy smoothie with lots of fresh fruit.
8. Trampolining; many leisure centres and sports halls have trampolines. Go along with the family and see how high you can go.
9. Ice skating; perfect winter activity! Head off to your local ice rink, get those skates on and get stuck in

10. Don’t get bored – get board; play charades, twist yourself in knots with twister the list goes on there are loads of great games to play rather than watch the TV or sit in front of the computer.

With more than 1 in 3 children over the healthy weight range for their age and height, the new year is the perfect time for families to take advantage of the accessible, friendly and encouraging support offered by the MEND Programme.  The course is aimed at overweight 7-11 year old children and their families, and provides an excellent chance to get fitter, healthier and happier.

The MEND Programme in Warrington which starts at the end of January, is part of a national network of over 300 courses which have already helped over 15,000 families improve their diets and activity levels.  A limited number of places valued at up to £400 are available on the course at Great Sankey Leisure Centre, completely free of charge thanks to sponsorship from the Youth Sport Trust.