Change4Life and Sportacus tackle our lazy towns
Change4Life is teaming up with super hero Sportacus to inspire children around the country to ditch their junk food and tuck into more 鈥楽ports Candy'.
Change4Life is teaming up with super hero Sportacus to inspire children around the country to ditch their junk food and tuck into more 鈥楽ports Candy鈥�, Public Health Minister Anne Milton announced today.
The popular children鈥檚 show LazyTown has partnered with Change4Life to encourage young children between the ages of two and five to be more active, eat healthier food and leave their own LazyTown ways behind.
Eating well and being active can help prevent children developing serious illnesses later in life and new physical activity guidelines show that once a child can walk they should be physically active for at least 180 minutes a day.聽
To launch the partnership, 3,600 Sure Start Children鈥檚 Centres will receive new Change4Life activity packs featuring all the LazyTown stars next week.聽 The packs will contain fun ideas for group activities and parents at home, such as healthy recipe ideas and a sticker wall chart.聽 This will help children track their progress as they become as active and healthy as Sportacus.
New research out today has revealed that Sportacus is the healthiest children鈥檚 character on UK television.聽 Although other characters are also very active, such as Tom and Jerry and Scooby Doo, it was Sportacus who took the top spot and sets the best example for children.
Public Health Minister Anne Milton said:
鈥淓ating well and being active is crucial, especially at an early age.
鈥淪portacus is a great role model for children and exactly what we need to get young children and their parents being healthy and being active.鈥�
Creator and star of LazyTown, Magnus Scheving said:
鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to be working with Change4Life in targeting children aged two to five years old.聽 I believe that the blueprint for becoming a healthy, fit adult is set at this age and it is the reason why campaigns like this are so important.
鈥淚t鈥檚 encouraging to see the government reaching out to the under fives where they can make such a positive difference.鈥�
Former Olympic Champion Sally Gunnell said:
鈥淎s a mum, I know the importance of engaging young children in a fun and creative way.
鈥淚 have seen the positive influence athletics can have on children as they grow up so this is a great way of targeting them early on and get more children interested in sport.鈥�
Notes to Editors
1.聽Fruit and vegetables are known as 鈥楽ports Candy鈥� in Lazy Town.
2.聽The Change4Life and LazyTown materials will also be available online for Change4Life supporters and partners to download from the Change4Life website.
3.聽PCP Research Consultants analysed the top 20 children鈥檚 programmes and characters shown on UK TV channels in November and December 2010.聽 Each character was rated on their activity levels and received marks for good behaviours such as walking short journeys and playing sport.聽
4.聽Programmes were ranked as follows (most active programme at the top):
-聽Scooby Doo
-聽Shaun the Sheep
-聽Lazy Town
-聽Peppa Pig
-聽Bob The Builder
-聽Tom and Jerry
-聽Dora the Explorer
-聽Looney Tunes
-聽SpongeBob Squarepants
-聽In the Night Garden
-聽Ben 10
-聽The Simpsons
-聽Phineas and Ferb
-聽The Sarah Jane Adventures
-聽Tracey Beaker
-聽Postman Pat
-听颈颁补谤濒测
-聽Horrid Henry
-听骋补谤蹿颈别濒诲
-聽Charlie and Lola.
5.聽Individual characters were ranked as follows (healthiest character at the top)
-聽Sportacus, Lazy Town
-聽Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo
-聽Daphne Blake, Scooby Doo
-聽Shaggy, Scooby Doo
-聽Freddie Jones, Scooby Doo
-聽Stephanie, Scooby Doo,
-聽Jerry, Tom and Jerry
-聽Peppa Pig, Peppa Pig
-聽Tom, Tom and Jerry
-聽Velma Dinkley, Scooby Doo
-聽George Pig, Peppa Pig
-聽Shaun聽, Shaun the Sheep
-聽SpongeBob, SpongeBob Squarepants
-聽Boots the Monkey, Dora the Explorer
-聽Ziggy, Lazy Town
-聽Igglepiggle, In the Night Garden
-聽Dora Marquez, Dora the Explorer
-聽Wile E Coyote, Looney Tunes
-聽Patrick Star, SpongeBob Squarepants
-聽Scoop, Bob the Builder
6.聽For further information on the research please contact Jo Evans - jo,[email protected] 020 3003 6399 / 07958 461 540 or Vicky Moorphew - [email protected] 020 3003 6337.
7.聽For all other media enquires please contact the Department of Health press office on 020 7210 5221.