Recent government figures on childhood obesity demonstrate the huge challenges we face and how essential it is to get our children and young people active:
- 1 in 4 Early Years children overweight or obese
- 1 in 3 at Year 6
- Currently 3 in10 children 5-12 are obese
- By 2050 projected 90% of 5-12 year olds will be obese
- Government health target is only to reduce the rate of increase in obesity
We believe that key to reversing this trend is to better engage families in their children’s physical development, providing them with the tools and confidence to spend time being active and playing as a family. Just as families who read with their children from a young age leads to better literacy levels and more importantly a love of reading, we believe the same applies to physical literacy and a lifelong love of physical activity.
In addition, as well as a significant impact on children’s physical development and health, we believe that physical activity has the potential to develop a whole range of personal, social and emotional skills and wellbeing and the family plays a pivotal role in this.
With these challenges in mind, we have developed a flexible solution called ‘Family FUNS’ as a way to encourage families to play and have fun together whilst developing their health, physical, personal and social skills.