Top tips and free gifts for a heart healthy life

 

Your heart is a muscle and it needs activity to keep it in tip-top condition

The good news is that physical activity can be a lot of fun.

• Choose activities that your children enjoy doing.
• Aim to be active enough so that your heart pumps faster and gets you hot and out of breath, but still able to talk.
• Children should aim for at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. This can be in smaller chunks of time to include PE in school, games and play in break times and after school hobbies and play.

To help you think of fun activities, order a G79 pocket play pack (written for 7-11s)*.

 

 

Play together as a family

It’s never too late to start giving your heart a workout and never too early to develop a positive attitude to physical activity.

• Parents that enjoy and value physical activity are great role models.
• Make physical activity a treat. Think of active alternatives when children say: “I’m bored”.
• Any aerobic exercise is good exercise for your heart and small changes can make a significant difference over time.

 

Order a G80 Get Kids on the Go booklet or the Welsh/English version G80W*.

 

 

Fruit and vegetables for a healthy heart

The vitamins and minerals packed into fruit and vegetables are an excellent source of nourishment for the whole family.

• Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is not so hard especially with Artie Beat to help make it fun for your kids.

 

Children 3-7 years old can order a G177 peel+stick sheet.* Children 7-11 years old can order a G48BC application form to become a member of the Artie Beat Club.*

 

Eating healthily can make you feel great

There are a few simple rules that help you to follow a balanced diet. Look at the pie chart and make sure that in a single day you and your children:

• Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables.
• Aim to base all meals on items from the starchy foods section (cereals, etc), for energy to keep active.
• Aim to have two to three portions from the protein section (eggs, etc) per day. You need protein for growth and repair of your body and it gives you energy too.
• Aim to have two to three portions of low-fat dairy per day. You need dairy for healthy teeth and bones.
• Rarely eat items from the fatty and sugary section and try to eat low-fat alternatives wherever possible.

Order a G186 Food Should be Fun … and Healthy! booklet, written for adults*.

 

A few words about fat

Having a diet with too much fat increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease and also the risk of becoming overweight or obese. Parents can encourage children’s healthy eating from a very young age.

• Start moving two year-old children from the high fat and whole dairy foods of infancy to lower fat products.
• By the time a child is five years old they should be on low-fat dairy products and a more adult eating plan.
• Healthy eating within the family helps your children to have good eating habits for life.
• Read food labels carefully because the information can be hard to understand and nutrition claims on packaging can be misleading.

Order an M4 Cut the Saturated Fat leaflet to explain which fats are better for you than others. Also the M54 Guide to Food Labelling leaflet, both written for adults*.

 

Salt addiction

Don’t get children hooked on salty foods.

• Replace salt in cooking with alternative spices like pepper, or a pinch of curry powder or paprika.
• Check the food labels for the salt or sodium content of ready prepared meals and snacks you are buying.
• A child aged 4-6 yrs should have no more than 3g salt (which is 1.2g sodium) a day.
• A child aged 7-10 years should have no more than 5g salt (2g of sodium) a day.

Order a G160 leaflet Salt: facts for a healthy heart, or G160W for the Welsh version, or G160/U for the Urdu version (written for adults).*

 

Never smoke

Most smokers wish that they had never started, so help children to be aware of the dangers of smoking.

• Encourage the smokers around you to get help to give up.
• Suggest that your child asks their school to phone QUIT on 020 7251 1551 and find out about the BreakFree presentations they give in some parts of England.
• With your children, look up websites such as:
  yheart.net in the smoke out section
  www.quit.org.uk
  www.ash.org.uk
  www.givingupsmoking.co.uk
  that will provide information on the dangers of smoking and help on how to give up.

Order a G118 Smoking and How to Give Up leaflet, or one of two large stop smoking posters: either M9A Butt Head or M9B Conclusion Smoker.*

 

* To order any of these items from the British Heart Foundation all you have to do is:
Phone: 0870 600 6566 E-mail: orderline@bhf.org.uk
Remember to quote the code number of the item you are ordering. All our materials are free, but we invite donations Registered Charity Number: 225971

 

 

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