New campaign
launches to give families a healthier Start4Life
Over three hundred of the 1,500 babies likely to be born this New
Year’s day could be overweight or obese by the time they start
school unless action is taken. The revelation comes as Start4Life
- a new campaign to support pregnant women and parents of babies
to give their baby a healthier start in life – launches today.
The campaign is part of Change4Life, the mass movement which
launched a year ago and which is helping families ‘eat well, move
more and live longer’.
Start4Life centres around six ‘building blocks’, based on the
latest infant health research, to help parents know what’s right
for their baby.
They are:
mum's milk - why breast milk is better for both mum and
baby;
everyday counts – information about how each day of
breastfeeding makes a difference to babies’ health;
no rush to mush - the Start4Life banana challenge shows the 3
signs to look out for that together show babies are ready to start
on solid foods - if your baby is able to sit up with their head
steady, reach out, grab a finger-sized piece of peeled, ripe
banana, and eat some of it all by themselves, they are ready!;
taste for life – advice on how giving babies a variety of food
now, can stop them turning into a fussy eater later;
sweet as they are – tips on how to avoid giving babies a sweet
tooth; and
baby moves – guidance on why it's important for all
little ones to be lively and active.
A short film showing one of the famous Change4Life plasticine
characters being moulded by a mum will be screened in antenatal
clinics and on Baby TV to raise awareness of the campaign.
Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron said:
“Unless we take action, 1 in 5 babies likely to be born this New
Year’s day could be obese by the time they start school.
“What happens in the first years of a baby’s life has a big
effect on how healthy they are in the future.
“Despite recent encouraging statistics which show that childhood
obesity may be levelling off, obesity levels are still too high
and it is important we keep the momentum going.
“That is why the Government is today launching its Start4Life
campaign, which will support pregnant women and parents of babies
give their families a ‘good start for a healthier life’.”
Notes to Editors
For media enquiries please contact the Department of Health
Newsdesk on 0207 210 5221
There were 1554 live births in England on 1st January 2008
according to Office of National Statistics figures. For more
information please contact the Office of National Statistics on
0845 6041858 or by email at press.office@ons.gsi.gov.uk
22.8% of measured reception aged children were overweight or
obese according to the National Child Measurement Programme report
data for the 2008/09 academic year. For more information about the
report data please contact the NHS Information Centre on 0845 257
6990 or visit
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-england-2008-09-school-year
The Start4Life film, Start4Life images and a cartoon strip
showing the Banana Challenge are available from the Department of
Health Newsdesk
The Start4Life website is at http://www.nhs.uk/start4life
Parents can call Start4Life on 0300 123 1021.Calls should cost no
more than geographic 01 or 02 UK-wide calls and may be part of
inclusive minutes subject to your provider and your call package.
The line is open from 9am to 8pm, 7 days a week.
Start4Life is part of Change4Life, the nationwide movement
supporting families to ‘eat well, move more and live longer’. It
launched in January 2009. Over 400, 000 families have signed up so
far. To find out more about the campaign visit
http://www.nhs.uk/change4life
The World Health Organisation now recommends exclusive
breastfeeding for the first 6 months following a thorough review
of scientific studies on the health, growth and development
benefits of breastfeeding in 2001. The World Health Organisation
review also found that babies’ digestive systems were not
developed enough to cope with solid food before they were 6 months
old. The review found no evidence of any benefits of introducing
food earlier than 6 months and no deficits in growth of infants
exclusively breastfed for 6 months.
8. Data published on 3rd November 2009 by the National Heart
forum suggested the rapid rise in child obesity may be levelling
off http://www.heartforum.org.uk/News_Media_pressreleases_ObesityLevellingOff_NewData.aspx
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk