NHS to give overweight children 'life coaching'

NHS bosses are recruiting motivational trainers to "empower" nine- to 11-year-olds to lose weight and become more healthy.

The new attempt to tackle the nation's obesity crisis is a radical departure from "bootcamp-style" methods where children are put through a rigorous exercise regime.

Children will be nominated for the mind-training workshops by teachers or school nurses and be encouraged to make lifestyle choices to lose the fat.

Those attending will get monthly face-to-face sessions with psychology coaches as well as weekly telephone sessions. The life-coaching scheme is being piloted from this Saturday by the NHS in north-east London.

Redbridge primary care trust is the first to test the life-coaching classes but others are also signed up to the programme. Experts say mind training will transform the attitudes of children to food and exercise.

The Government has already spent £372million on anti-obesity measures, including a clampdown on unhealthy packed lunches, a ban on junk food from school vending machines and compulsory cooking lessons. But London children are among the fattest in the country, with one in three officially overweight by the time they start school.

Life-coaching company The Performance Solution is carrying out the free workshops to help change the mindset of children. Those attending must be above the healthy weight for their age and height compared with the national average.

The sessions will be run by ex-marine Alan Chambers, who led the first British team to walk unsupported to the North Pole. Mr Chambers, 40, said blaming children for being obese was futile.

He said: "The fact is existing methods are not working and advertising campaigns cost a lot of money. I was a dreamer as a child but if you are four stone overweight then you're limiting your chance of adventure.

"This is about motivation, not blame. It's not a case of 'by the end of the class we will have changed your BMI and you'll be running the London marathon'.

"It's about giving them the psychological skills to change their mindset. If they make different lifestyle choices the weight will fall off." The workshops will be supported by a text service and a dedicated helpline to ensure the children stay motivated.

Their parents will also be given coaching to ensure they are not giving their children unhealthy choices.

Pratibha Datta, NHS Redbridge's director of public health, said: "The goal is to help these youngsters adopt lasting change. That means encouraging them to adopt more empowering beliefs and values about what they can do. The life coaches are well placed to make this happen and it is potentially a very exciting project."

The wheel of life test

The aim of life-coaching is to help people lead more balanced lives.

Children at the workshops will have to complete a specially designed test called the Wheel of Life.

This is a simple exercise where they rate every aspect of their lives including health and well-being, self-esteem, friendships and achievements.

They also fill in a form with multiple-choice questions on subjects such as "I have an ongoing exercise programme" or "I am my normal weight and look good".

Their answers are scored according to how healthy they are and how balanced their lifestyle is.

It also gives an insight into their eating habits such as what takeaway shops they pass on the way to school or what clothes they would like to wear if they lost weight.

The life coach then sets them individual goals to motivate them to become more fit and healthy.