Life Based Learning ™
Delivering subject content through nine life themes
Category: Physical Health
Benefits of the Daily Mile
Congratulations to the Daily Mile, which recently turned ten years old! According to the Daily Mile Foundation, four million children in 90 countries worldwide – including two million children in England alone – are now involved, twice as many as in 2019. Scotland was… Continue Reading “Benefits of the Daily Mile”
Children’s activity levels
The England men’s football team fell short of cementing their place in history by lifting the World Cup, but millions of us came together to watch their progress, and the consensus seems to be that they gave a good account of themselves, with the… Continue Reading “Children’s activity levels”
Type 2 diabetes and young people
Analysis carried out by Diabetes UK shows that rates of type 2 diabetes in the under-40s are now increasing faster than in the over-40s, with cases up by 23% in the last five years. The charity’s chief executive has described the trend as “incredibly… Continue Reading “Type 2 diabetes and young people”
Fat shaming is no answer
A recent comment piece in the Times newspaper by the journalist Matthew Parris, arguing that fat shaming is the only way to tackle the obesity crisis, has – unsurprisingly – caused controversy. It comes in the same week that Diabetes UK warned about an… Continue Reading “Fat shaming is no answer”
Putting children’s health needs first
The comment that a week is a long time in politics is commonly attributed to former prime minister Harold Wilson. Yet even the worst crises of the 60s and 70s moved at a glacial pace compared to the events of the last few days… Continue Reading “Putting children’s health needs first”
Healthy lifestyle choices
They were nowhere near the front pages but two health-related stories in the Guardian this week – from different parts of the world – gave this reader particular pause for thought. The first warned that China is facing a health emergency in the coming… Continue Reading “Healthy lifestyle choices”
Unimaginative nanny-state rhetoric
‘Nanny state’ is a politically loaded term, used tendentiously to make an ideological point, namely that it is not the job of government to interfere (another loaded term, of course, as is ‘red tape’) in our everyday lives and decision-making. Expect to hear the… Continue Reading “Unimaginative nanny-state rhetoric”
Teen Substance Use
Evidence from an NHS Digital survey indicates that smoking and drug use among teenagers is declining and that the amount of alcohol use is broadly unchanged since 2018. Vaping, on the other hand, is on the increase. Grabbing the headlines was the statistic that… Continue Reading “Teen Substance Use”
A welcome social prescribing initiative
The Department for Transport has announced that walking and cycling are to be offered on prescription in a nationwide trial. ‘Social prescriptions’ will be offered by GPs as part of a new trial to improve mental and physical health. Evidence of success will include fewer GP… Continue Reading “A welcome social prescribing initiative”
The importance of legacy
It’s that word legacy again. Last Friday the Local Government Association called for money raised from the soft drinks industry levy to be available for councils to spend on tackling childhood obesity and encouraging greater physical activity in their local areas to “ensure (a)… Continue Reading “The importance of legacy”