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Miguel da Costa is just like any other 12-year-old, chatting about playing rugby and hockey at school.
His impish grin and bright eyes seem to fit perfectly with his trim physique, his energy bubbling just beneath the surface.
But two-and-a-half years ago, Miguel was one of an alarming number of youngsters worldwide battling their weight - the butt of bullying by his peers, notching up average marks at school, and with dodgy self-esteem.
When the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town recognised the gap in fitness programmes for children, and started what was then called the Funky Fitness programme, Miguel was one of just two youngsters who signed up.
| 'Miguel was not gorging on junk food or anything that was immediately obvious' |
His mother Angela remembers the child she was constantly worried about until he started the programme, which incorporates fitness, dietary awareness - and fun.
"Miguel was not gorging on junk food or anything that was immediately obvious, but we were living in Johannesburg at the time and commuting long distances, which meant there were long periods of inactivity, and limited time for extra exercise.
"He came to the institute up to four times a week and enjoyed every minute of it, never complaining about having to show up for his sessions," she says.
Miguel lost 15kg, his self-esteem rocketed, his school work improved, and today he's bursting with energy - proof that the growing trend towards childhood obesity can be turned around in a healthy way.
Miguel's story is timely: South Africa is moving rapidly towards the introduction of a Charter for Physical Activity and Sport for Children and Youth.
Now in its fifth draft, the charter is set to be discussed again on May 5.
The project is being driven by Dr Karen Sharwood, of the University of Cape Town/Medical Research Council unit for exercise science and sport medicine, and the object is to recognise the importance of physical activity among children, especially at school.
Based on a similar initiative by Dr Robbie Parker, head of the New Children's Hospital in Australia, it is set to kick off a national drive to counteract growing obesity among South African children.
A national food consumption survey reports that one in 13 children between the ages of one and nine in formal urban areas is obese.
Worldwide, childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and UCT's Monday Paper reported recently that 155 million school-going children around the world were now overweight or obese.
The prevalence of obesity among children aged three to nine in developing countries ranges between seven percent and 10 percent.
Sharwood is quoted in the Monday Paper as saying that preliminary data from South Africa suggests that the prevalence of inactivity or sedentary living is on a par with most developed countries, partly as a result of urbanisation.
South African children are also less active because schools lack safe sporting facilities or offer insufficient physical activity.
Published data from the University of the Witwatersrand's Birth to Twenty study shows that less than one-third of black South African children are offered any physical education at school.
It also reveals that more than 40 percent of South African youngsters (Grades 4 and 5) do not get enough vigorous exercise.
"It's clear that there is a need for nationwide intervention at school level to curb this exponential rise in sedentary behaviour later in life," Sharwood told the Monday Paper.
Among the key articles highlighted in the charter are:
All South African children and young people have a fundamental right to be physically active and to play sport.
Parents, sporting organisations, local and national government, non-government and non-profit organisations, clubs, schools, the private sector and other key parties should work together to provide opportunities for children and young people to participate in safe physical activity and sport.
Institutions providing physical activity and sport in an educational framework must assume shared responsibility for the provision of appropriate physical activity, human movement and sport for children and youth in safe, healthy and effective environments.
The government, in partnership with the private sector and communities, must provide appropriate and sustainable infrastructure and safe access, facilities, equipment and, where appropriate, transport for all children and youth to be physically active and participate in sport.
The protection of the children and young people participating in physical activity and sport at all levels, including those children performing at an elite level, is essential, and participation in physical activity should be given equal recognition with winning.
The Sports Science Institute's Kathy McQuaide said the shift away from physical education in schools, and the consequent inactivity, had prompted the institute to start the Funky Fitness programme more than two years ago.
Today it is called the SSISA Club, and it aims to expose children aged seven to 11, and 12 to 15, to various exercise options in a safe and fun environment.
"The focus is on participation rather than achievement in the attempt to create a love for exercise in the children.
"But although participation is key, testing weeks are held every term to evaluate individual improvement," she says.
The club caters for children with various needs, and if a child needs dietary help, they are referred to an in-house dietitian.
Parents are also included, attending workshops focusing on psychology, exercise and nutrition, and there are also joint parent-child activity days.
It worked for Miguel, that's more than obvious.
He says it is nice being complimented so much, and says it has been a lot of fun.
His mother Angela was just delighted to be able to tell a teacher who asked what she had done to Miguel, "It's not me, it's him."
Most foods contain a mixture of nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals), all of which have important functions in the body. Some foods are high in one nutrient and other foods high in others, so it is essential that children eat a variety to get a good mixture.
A variety of food rich in carbohydrate (bread, potato, rice, cereal), protein (meat, fish, chicken, eggs, legumes, milk, cheese), fat (peanut butter, avocado, nuts, seeds), and vitamins and minerals (fruit and vegetables) should be eaten daily.
Children learn from adults to classify foods as "good" or "bad" - but this is incorrect. All foods can fit into their diet, even those that are high in sugar and fat, as long as they are eaten less frequently and in smaller amounts.
Instead the focus should be on developing healthy eating patterns.
Children have unique nutritional requirements and so the amount of food and nutrients they need daily differs from that of adults. If they consume more energy (calories/kilojoules) than they require, or if their diet is high in any one nutrient, such as fat, their diet will be unbalanced.
- Information courtesy of Jenny-Ann Smuts, Shelly Meltzer & Associates, registered dietitians.
- This article was originally published on page 13 of Cape Argus on April 25, 2005
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