Families in Lancashire are invited to 'Be Food Smart' on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February when Public Health England’s (PHE) Change4Life roadshow comes to the Fishergate Shopping Centre in Preston.

Recent reports show that childhood obesity in England has reached alarming rates. Currently in Lancashire, one in five 4 to 5 year-olds are overweight or very overweight when they start school, increasing to one in three 10 to 11 year-olds by the time they leave primary school.

PHE’s new Change4Life campaign urges parents to ‘Be Food Smart’ and take more control of their children’s diets.

At the event families will see live demonstrations of the new 'Be Food Smart' app that highlights just how much sugar, saturated fat and salt can be found in everyday food and drink that their children consume. They will also receive free 'Be Food Smart' information packs, making it easier to make the healthier choice at home.

The free app helps and encourages families to choose healthier options and works by scanning the barcode of products allowing parents to compare brands, and features food detective activities for children and mini missions the whole family can enjoy.

The campaign also helps parents identify the health harms of children eating and drinking too much sugar, saturated fat and salt, including becoming overweight and developing tooth decay.

ABL Health will also be at the event, having been commissioned by Lancashire County Council to support people to lead a healthy lifestyle in a range of ways including:
• Weight management programmes for adults and families that encourage weight loss and behaviour change.
• A range of free exercise classes and groups for people who would like to increase their physical activity.
• An exercise on referral programme, designed to provide appropriate exercise and encouragement to partake in physical activity for people with medical conditions.

The Active Lives and Healthy Weight service is available to people in Preston, Chorley and South Ribble. You will find them in the Fishergate Shopping Centre in Preston on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February with the Change4Life team.

The new Change4Life ‘Be Food Smart’ campaign is touring the country, visiting 29 shopping centres and 40 supermarkets nationally.

To find out more about the campaign and download the free app visit the Be Food Smart website.