Niki Bezzant: Put their energy into weight loss

"Energisers" have visited Waikato schools to teach kids about eating better. Photo / Supplied

Childhood obesity - a term that should be an oxymoron - is on the rise. Eleven per cent of kids are obese; a further 22 per cent are overweight.

The Government recently announced its plan to reduce childhood obesity.

This is a step in the right direction but it seems to be essentially a re-packaging of existing measures.

It has no new funding and some obvious areas have been ignored.

For example, sugary drinks are being removed from DHBs and hospitals but the idea of healthy food policies for schools was not addressed.

Nor is anything planned to change our obesogenic environment.

There's a vague mention of "broad strategies to make healthier choices easier", but one of the simplest tactics - a tax on sugary drinks - is off the menu, despite numerous public health experts and the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, chaired by the Prime Minister's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, recommending it.

It's a shame policy makers didn't take a closer look at what is going on around the country and look to expand some of the programmes that are making a difference to the health of our kids.

A great example is Project Energise, which started as a research project by the Waikato DHB, and is celebrating its 10th birthday this year.

It is designed to improve kids' nutrition and exercise habits, and involves more than 44,000 primary and intermediate kids.

The project is led by a team of "Energisers" who go into schools to listen, talk, introduce programmes and get kids moving and eating better.

Project leader Professor Elaine Rush from AUT University says: "They take 'huff and puff' games and activities into the schools and demonstrate why water and milk are the best drinks.

"They show kids, teachers and parents how to make a healthy sandwich."

"Eat healthily and have fun" is the mantra.

Energisers also help schools devise and put in place healthy food policies, usually including getting rid of sugary drinks and making tuck shops healthier.

Project Energise has good evidence to back it up.

An evaluation in 2011 showed kids participating in the project had obesity rates 3 per cent less than the national average.

They also weighed less and had a lower body mass index than other kids and had waist measurements substantially less than other kids. They also ran faster.

"From what we have seen and measured, Project Energise is making a difference," says Rush.

At a cost of $40 a year for each child, this seems like a bargain. Imagine if it was in every school in the country.

Imagine if, as in the research results from the Energise schools, 99 per cent of all our 9 to 11-year-old kids believed healthy eating was important, and knew how to eat well. Energise is being rolled out in Manukau and Northland and has been adapted for use in Ireland.

If it is recognised internationally as best practice, maybe we should take a closer look here, too.

Niki Bezzant is editor-in-chief of Healthy Food Guide.