In an effort to combat childhood obesity by encouraging young people to partake in regular physical activity, British leaders are implementing a plan to provide rewards to children who walk to school:
Under the scheme, pupils will be issued with electronic swipe cards that they use to touch receivers on lampposts between their home and school, in much the same way that Oystercards work on the capital's transport network.
In a pilot scheme in Wimbledon, south west London, teenage girls received a £5 Topshop voucher if they walked to school eight times within a certain period, and an Odeon cinema ticket for five days of walking.
As a result there was an 18 per cent increase in walking to school. ...Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, gave the idea a "cautious welcome".
"In principle it's a good idea, but it needs to be closely monitored," he said, advising that chools should set their pupils a "time limit" depending on distance.
"It needs to be a brisk walk - they've got to huff and puff," he said. "If they amble to school and stop at the corner shop to buy fizzy drinks, it's a waste of time, because then they would probably take in more calories than they would expend." [Source: Daily Telegraph]
Labels: walking
Posted By: My Overweight Child
