By, Alan Jackson, Weight Management Practitioner and Director of Weight Management Centre and Discovery Learning

So here I am, with fifteen or so parents in this small room, all of their children are overweight or obese (mainly obese) and most, if not all, of the parents are likewise. I can tell by their belligerent stares and negative body language that they will be a tough crowd.  I’m there to put it to them that the reason that their children are overweight is due mainly to the job that they are doing as parents.  Their children’s weight won’t reduce just because the wind changes and, as the saying goes: ‘If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always got!’

I cast an eye around the room and pick out the ones that I know are spoiling for a fight. The mum with the unruly four year old that has not stopped whinging and carrying on since we arrived is a dead cert.  I can read their minds: “Look at old lanky, here no doubt to bring me another pious lecture about how to bring up my kids. Probably some health & fitness freak with a cabbage obsession, living in a mews house in Kensington.  Well I’ll let him know what being a single mum bringing up three kids on a council estate in Mitcham teaches you, and that is that you get your revenge in first!”

Feebly and with breathtaking insincerity I introduce myself; I know now for sure they can see straight through it.  These guys are street wise, they are first class honours graduates of the University of Hard Knocks; I don’t stand a chance!  The silence is deafening, it lasts forever; meanwhile, their stares turn to scowls.  Just as I contemplate feigning a seizure, the silence is shattered by the crashing of a flinging door.  In blusters the obligatory late comer, complete with flailing umbrella and soaking coat.  Cursing the traffic, and furious at the inconvenience of being dragged along to another pointless nanny state social project.  Her entrance further agitates the by now palpably hostile audience.

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it I tell myself!

As usual it’s all in my head, and of course they are a great bunch of people, mums and dads just like anyone else, trying to make headway against a strong opposing tide.  We have a laugh, get acquainted and each of them talks about their experiences and the challenges that they face. We share ideas and exchange snippets on how to outsmart the kids, how to draw upon our knowledge and resolve when the going gets tough, and hopefully how to make a few better choices for ourselves on route.

As always they come up with great solutions to the recurring themes, and realise that they are not alone in their struggle to rear healthy weight children in modern Britain.  I too as always learn a few more tips from them for the next programme.  Following a really productive 30 minutes, everyone is really motivated and I can feel their renewed enthusiasm for tackling the many challenges that they face.

We move next door to where the fitness team is working with the children.  As always I am genuinely moved to see these young children, who despite in some cases their severe obesity, exude the vitality and exuberance that is innate in every child.  The children and the staff inspire me; together they remind me why I love this job so much.

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By, Miranda Atkinson, Weight Management Centre

It’s 4 am and I can hear some of my student neighbours returning home from a big night out. They wake me before my alarm goes off with their merriment, and as I drag myself out of bed and force some toast down hastily, it is still pitch black outside.

It was mornings like these when I thought “why am I doing this to myself?” I would meet my university athletics club by 4.30 am so we could drive 2 hours away to run a 10km race. I found the only answer to my question was that I was doing it for the feeling I got afterwards! There was nothing quite like returning to my friends who were just emerging from their slumber and feeling like I had achieved so much while the whole day still lay ahead of me.

I have recently joined the Weight Management Centre and attended a course outlining the problem of childhood obesity and how we can prevent and remedy it. It was truly an eye opener and I had no idea how serious childhood obesity is in the UK, or how frightening the consequences are. I won’t tell you facts and figures – in fact I recommend that you go on the course yourself – but it made me think about my childhood and how lucky I was to have been brought up in an environment which fostered healthy eating, and where exercise was a regular part of our lifestyle.

At my school it was compulsory to participate in one afternoon of sport a week. However, I loved sport and it never occurred to me that the ‘compulsory’ regulation was for students that didn’t want to participate in sport. I had never been on the other side and really couldn’t understand why one wouldn’t want to take part in physical activity. This was in large part due to my parents and the habits that they taught me or, more importantly, the time we all spent exercising together. I came to the realisation that many children simply aren’t exposed to physical activity! They become used to living a sedentary lifestyle and sadly never know if they really have an affinity for a particular sport or physical activity.

I was made aware on the childhood obesity course that we are living in an obesogenic environment, where developments in technology mean that we are not required to do as much physical activity as previous generations in order to complete daily tasks. The availability and demand for convenience food in these busy times, the prevalence of high energy snacks and the general lack of time to exercise, further compound this problem. However, I believe that if all children were encouraged to some daily physical activity (be it as small as a walk to the park and back), it might give them the opportunity to enjoy and excel at activities they might never have even thought to take part in. As the old saying goes you never know what you like until you try it!

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By, Natalie Randell, Nutritionist

From personal experience and backed by scientific research, I truly believe that being fully hydrated before and during exercise has the greatest positive influence on peak performance.

As a regular middle distance runner I can identify my personal signs of dehydration and often feel tired with heavy legs when running in this state. Therefore, I aim to drink the recommended 2 litres of water every day…this is harder than it sounds and some days I don’t even manage 1 litre! I put this down to the feeling of fullness that I experience with this volume of liquid but this could very well be an individual effect and not the case for everyone. Therefore, understanding the importance of being hydrated before exercise encourages me to drink through this feeling of fullness so that I can achieve peak performance in my predominantly evening exercise sessions.

Here’s the science bit:

A 2% drop in body weight water loss will affect your ability to exercise, and your maximal aerobic capacity will fall by 10-20% causing your performance to deteriorate (Bean, 2006). This is even more apparent if you are dehydrated prior to exercise which can lead to further dehydration if no additional fluid is drank during exercise. At a 5% loss your aerobic capacity will decrease by 30%, while an 8% drop will cause dizziness, weakness and confusion (Bean, 2006).

Part two will look at how much fluid is recommended during and after exercise based on the duration and intensity of the exercise carried out so watch this space for more information.

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