Mid-North Coast Local Health District health promotion officer and area Go4Fun Manager, Margo Johnston, said the Go4Fun program is fun, practical and interactive program designed to help children who are above their healthy weight and their parents learn great skills for life, such as preparing and eating healthy foods, reading food labels and encouraging healthy shopping on a budget.

“The supermarket tour is a hands-on session where children and their families can put their new skills into practice and start to make healthier food choices. Acting as Food Detectives, they seek out general shopping items, read the food labels to determine the healthiest options,” Ms Johnston said. “Once children are able to identify the contents of common food items, they then use the Go4Fun guidelines to encourage them to make healthy choices, try new foods and improve their eating habits.

“Sometimes parents are surprised to discover that foods they previously thought were ‘lite’ or ‘healthy’, especially snack foods, actually contain high levels of sugar or fat. After learning the skills involved in these activities they are able to make more informed choices about what to feed their children and themselves,” Ms Johnston said.

The Go4Fun program is a free healthy lifestyle program available to families across the Mid-North Coast wishing to improve their child’s diet, exercise levels and overall happiness. The program, involves twice weekly sessions over the course of the 10 week school term. 

Local families who have taken part in the program say it has helped to improve their eating and exercise habits, reduce waistlines and increased their children’s confidence and self esteem. The Go4Fun program will be running in various locations across the Mid-North Coast in Term 4, including Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Wauchope, Macksville and Coffs Harbour.

Go4Fun is funded by the NSW Department of Health and places worth up to $900 per child are being offered free of charge. Places are limited, so families who are interested in taking part should contact Go4Fun on 1800 780 900.