Active lifestyles
Great Fun to Run Project
In order to contribute to a better understanding of how sport and physical activity impact on young people’s fitness levels, The Coca-Cola Company has supported GreatFun2Run, a major public health initiative undertaken in Gateshead, North East England, during 2006.
Organised by Great Run (operators of the Great North Run, the world’s biggest half-marathon), the 12-month programme involved 20,000 children aged between 7 and 11. This curriculum-based initiative aimed to encourage an increase in children’s physical activity levels throughout the day and improve participants’ understanding of a healthy lifestyle.
Teachers and pupils were provided with interactive resource materials for use in different lessons in order to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and a healthy diet. The project has been run in partnership with parents and schools across the region and community participation has been central to its success.
Considerable work has been undertaken with children and adults alike to understand the barriers that prevent young people from taking part in physical activity and the motivations that would encourage them to do so.
Research and evaluation
The programme also involved a significant piece of research to evaluate the success of the initiative – work undertaken by the Institute of Youth Sport at Loughborough University. Changes in total physical activity levels during the day, along with fitness and body fatness, have been closely monitored and compared with a control group of children living 200 miles away who did not participate in the project.
Preliminary results indicate that the programme has been highly successful and that physical activity and levels of fitness have increased as the programme developed. Full research results from the project are to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals during late 2007 and early 2008.
For more information see www.greatfun2run.org.
(In line with our marketing to children policy no branding was involved with our support for this initiative)
