2005 Finalist

The Healthy Lifestyles Project - Childhood Obesity Initiative

An innovative programme that involves entire families working together to tackle serious obesity in young people is showing encouraging signs of success.

The Healthy Lifestyles Project in Northland is designed to help seriously obese children and their families make lasting changes to improve their health and prevent illness and disability in the future. The project is also designed to pilot materials, techniques and approaches that could be adapted and used in other centres.

Childhood obesity is recognised as one of the most serious problems facing the healthcare system in NZ. Dr Vicki Tyrrell who researched childhood obesity rates in Auckland designed the Healthy Lifestyles Project.

The Project differs from other obesity programmes as it includes the entire families of young children and adolescents referred by GPs.

The programme focuses on making small sustainable steps towards a healthier lifestyle. It focuses on what the family eats as well as leisure activities and exercise.

The programme includes such things as shopping trips to the supermarket with a dietician, application of pedometers for the 12,000 step programme, a menu of after school activity programmes such as swimming, hiking, basketball, roller blading, diary and record keeping and an ongoing mutual support social group after completion of the programme.

Operating within existing resources the project is already delivering tangible results. There have been some measurable improvements in such key indicators as blood chemistry, and BMI (body mass index). In addition to this, children and families report feeling positive about achieving sustained progress.

Northland District Health Board
Contact: Dr Vicki Cunningham 09 4304100 or 021 611 302
Email: vickit@nhl.co.nz