{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"A new report from the NHS shows the likelihood of being obese is increased if young people live in a more deprived area. Andrew Bollington, the Early Years Programme Sponsor at Scouts, and Carl Hankinson, our UK Chief Commissioner, look at the statistics and consider whether Scouts could be part of the solution","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThe NHS has reported that children are more than twice as likely to be obese by Year 6 of school if they live in more deprived areas. The government classifies areas of deprivation using the Index of Multiple Deprivation scale (better known as IMDs), which rank communities from most deprived (IMD 1) to least deprived (IMD 10).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe scale reflects income, employment, education, health, crime, housing and living environment data. The 10% most deprived communities are categorised as IMD 1, the next 10% as IMD 2, right the way through to the least deprived 10% of communities as IMD 10.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe children who are more likely to be obese are in IMD 1\u20133.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EObviously, there are many factors that could play a part in this. For example, difficulty in accessing extracurricular physical activities like swimming classes or dancing, the extra expense of buying healthy ingredients like fresh fruit and vegetables, and busy parents who do shift work finding it difficult to prepare meals without processed foods.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/16520/squirrels-blog-chart.jpg","width":600,"height":546,"altText":"Chart showing % of children who are obese at Year 6, by IMD","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EUnfortunately, childhood obesity increases the risk of lots of serious medical problems, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, liver disease, bone and joint problems, asthma, sleep disorders and skin infections. These can be diseases with lifelong consequences.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s one of the reasons why it\u2019s so important for us to reach underrepresented communities with Scouts.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the outcomes we aim for is to help young people lead healthier, more active lifestyles. We know that we do this \u2013 the Scout Experience Survey 2019 found that young people in Scouts spend on average 1.1 more days a week being physically active than young people not in Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s more good news. Squirrels, our new section for 4\u20136 year olds, is proving to be particularly successful in reaching underrepresented communities. As of November, 29% of our 375 new Squirrel Dreys are in IMDs 1\u20133 and 48% are in IMDs 1\u20135.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis means that Squirrels is helping Scouts to become more representative of UK society, and is helping children who need an active programme the most \u2013 especially through new activity badges like Explore Outdoors and Feel Good (which introduce healthy lifestyle ideas).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis isn\u2019t an accident. Squirrels was piloted and evaluated exclusively in underrepresented communities.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThrough the cohort model of starting Squirrels \u2013 where members are supported by a coach and peers running Squirrels, there\u2019s support in place to help Squirrels start in underrepresented communities. There are also start-up grants.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, we need your continued help to make sure that the roll-out of Squirrels prioritises the communities where Scouting has been historically underrepresented. This won\u2019t happen by accident \u2013 and you can help to make the difference.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlease, as you make your plans for rolling out Squirrels in 2022 and beyond, \u003Cstrong\u003Ethink first about the children and communities who need it the most\u003C/strong\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"17 January 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"An update on Squirrels: over 350 Dreys registered and a camp pilot","url":"/news/2021/october/an-update-on-squirrels/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Off to a great start with Squirrel Scouts","url":"/news/2021/september/squirrels/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Read the NHS report","url":"https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2020-21-school-year","newWindow":true}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Squirrels \u2013 4 and 5 years","url":"/sections/squirrels/","newWindow":false}],"id":50902,"nodeName":"Childhood health and why it\u2019s so important Squirrels reaches new areas","title":"Childhood health and why it\u2019s so important Squirrels reaches new areas","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/13979/210510_squirrels_0135.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1db261a1bb7d800","caption":"Squirrel smiling and looking at the camera. In the background there\u0027s two volunteers and another squirrel sat around a campfire circle.","type":"jpg","size":1015727,"width":6093,"height":4062,"altText":"A Squirrel, wearing a red jumper and red scarf, smiles at the camera with two leaders in the background"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Childhood health and why it\u2019s so important Squirrels reaches new areas","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"We look at statistics on childhood obesity in deprived areas and how Scouts might be part of the solution.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDkwMiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/january/childhood-health-and-why-it-s-so-important-squirrels-reaches-new-areas/"}