Hearty Lives Torfaen
There are
several areas in Torfaen where cardiovascular health is amongst the
worst in Wales.
Working together with Torfaen County Borough
Council, Aneurin Bevan Health
Board and Public Health
Wales, we have invested £1.5 million into
the Hearty Lives Torfaen programme.
Our aim
To build a healthier Torfaen by
helping people of all ages to manage their weight
and improve their long-term heart health.
- Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do
it! (MEND). MEND programmes tackle childhood
obesity and are aimed at children aged 2-4 or
7-13. They are free and
family orientated with an emphasis on fun,
fitness, healthy eating and behaviour change towards achieving a
healthier lifestyle
- Activity in schools including Heart Start, Jump Rope
for Heart, Active Club, Big Food
Challenge and Butt-Out
- Working with and alongside GP surgeries to help
patients make the best use of available obesity and overweight
services
- A 12-week group workshop programme
incorporating healthy eating advice, nutrition/food labelling,
behaviour change and lifestyle.
Success so far
Chris Jones from Cwmbran (who weighed 25 stone in November 2010)
enrolled on the 12-week programme in order to try and
improve his health, after being motivated
to lose weight by his family's history of heart problems.
He said his eating habits have changed since he began the scheme:
"I'm just eating a lot more healthily."
The programme is excellent. It's nice to see that there are people taking the time to help us
Cody Gudotti from Blaenavon has been taking part in the MEND 2-4
programme with her two young children. With the help of a
community dietician she's been getting
advice on how to encourage her
children to eat more fruit and vegetables. Cody says: "I didn't
really have a clue about planning a menu, or shopping on a budget.
Before it was mainly biscuits, or toast with jam - just crisps and
junk basically.Now we've got a lot of fresh foods I'm making things
from scratch - and it's helping a lot."
More info
For more information about Hearty Lives Torfaen please contact
Area Development Manager Elaine Tanner on
tannere@bhf.org.uk.