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Press Release

Leading obesity organisations launch inaugural National Childhood Obesity Week

9 June 2010

A leading obesity charity has joined forces with a social enterprise that delivers free after-school healthy living programmes to families to launch the first-ever UK awareness week to focus on child obesity issues.

The National Obesity Forum (NOF) and MEND will launch the inaugural National Childhood Obesity Week on Monday 5th July, with the week running until Sunday 11th July.

At the outset of the Week, the obesity organisations will launch a Charter calling on the new coalition government to set out its strategy for tackling childhood obesity, including a clear plan of action and new targets for reducing child obesity levels. The Charter will detail what should be included in the childhood obesity strategy. NOF and MEND are currently calling for other organisations concerned with childhood obesity to sign-up to the Charter.

Tam Fry, Board member of NOF, said: "The inaugural National Childhood Obesity Week must act as a prompt for the new coalition government to take urgent action to tackle the child obesity crisis and reverse existing trends that are severely damaging the health of our nation's children".

Harry MacMillan, chief executive of MEND, said: "We're hoping a combined voice on the issue of obesity will highlight to the government our commitment to support them to reduce childhood obesity."

During the Week, MEND's network of 350 healthy living programmes across the UK will be holding fun physical activity events for families in their local area. The events form part of MEND Move It Week which has been organised to coincide with National Childhood Obesity Week. MEND Move It Week aims to encourage families to spend more time being active together.

For more information about National Childhood Obesity Week go to www.mendcentral.org/ncow



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