Isle of Wight school prepares pupils for a healthy future

Greenmount School was one of the earliest settings on the Isle of Wight to join the island's SUGAR SMART campaign. As part of their partnership work with the campaign, the school made a pledge to raise pupil awareness of hidden sugars and promote sugar reduction.

Greenmount arranged to hold a SUGAR SMART healthy eating day this June. The event provided the opportunity for a variety of organisations to provide interesting interactive workshops for year 6 children. School nurses provided a session for children to create healthy balanced food plates, a dental therapist provided a workshop on preventing decay and brushing techniques and the children played sugar detectives to uncover answers to a quiz on hidden sugars.

The Island's resident celebrity chef Robert Thompson provided a healthy taster session with simple, affordable recipe tips. By the end of the morning, many children accepted the challenge to avoid sugary drinks for a week.

On the Isle of Wight nearly one in four children are overweight or obese in reception classes (4-5years). By Year 6 a third of children are overweight or obese. 6.6% of the population over 17 have type 2 diabetes.

The Island's SUGAR SMART campaign is run by the Isle of Wight Council, who are working with local partners to reduce overconsumption of sugar and improve the health outcomes of the island's youngest generations.

After consulting with Island residents through a public survey which showed overwhelming support for action on sugar reduction, the council's Public Health team with partners from the NHS, the Clinical Commissioning Group, schools and the wider council launched SUGAR SMART Isle of Wight earlier this year. Local organisations and businesses and residents are encouraged to join SUGAR SMART to work together to make the Island a healthier place for all and to encourage informed choices.

SUGAR SMART is a campaign run by the charity Sustain. SUGAR SMART is one of the featured campaigns in the UK's Sustainable Food Cities Network.