Looking after your family’s wellbeing by making sure they get enough exercise and a good diet can be a challenge, but the government is here to help with ‘money off’ vouchers for food, as well as discounts on activities and nutritional wellness advice. This is available to families in England as an incentive and encouragement to swap your unhealthy habits for healthier lifestyles.
This scheme is known as the ‘Great Swapathon’, and to qualify you will need to join up on the Great Swapathon website, fill out a questionnaire and you will automatically receive suggestions of lifestyle changes you can make to improve the health and fitness of your family. By taking part in the Great Swapathon, you will have access to a £50 book of vouchers for money off healthier foods and activities, recipes for healthier alternatives to favourite snacks and for family options for each meal time, as well as nutritional and activity advice.
These vouchers are being subsidised by the food and drinks industry, and amount to a total of £250 million overall. The Department of Health says the scheme is ‘a revolutionary new partnership between Government, industry and the media’, due to the fact that these food and drink manufacturers and activity providers are joining together with the Government to improve the health of the nation. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley stated that ‘This is a very exciting initiative. It’s a great example of how Government, the media, industry and retailers can work together to help families to be healthy.’
Lansley continued, ‘The healthy option isn’t always the cheapest option so it’s a really important step to be able to offer £50 off healthier foods, drinks and activities.’ One retailer was praised specifically by Lansley for offering 20% off dining room furniture, as this will ‘encourage families to sit round a table together for meals.’
Interim Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Dame Sally Davies advised that ‘The New Year is a great time to think about making some small changes to be a little bit healthier’ so you should ‘be a bit more active and eat a little more healthily’, ‘try to eat five portions of fruit and veg every day’ and should ideally ‘be doing 30 minutes of exercise five times a week – or an hour a day for children’. However, Davies assures that ‘Exercise doesn’t have to be painful – you could take the dog for a walk or play with your kids in the park. Anything that gets your heart pumping.’
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