Abu Dhabi schools offer non-traditional exercise and nutritional help to fight obesity

From rock climbing to gutter board games, or Tchoukball in Switzerland, students at a school in Abu Dhabi are taking up a variety of non-traditional sports to reduce childhood obesity.

Repton Abu Dhabi It found that during the pandemic, physical activity decreased by 27% for boys and 45% for girls.

To address this, the school introduces students to fun, non-traditional sports.

Principal Steve Lupton said obesity, especially childhood obesityis an epidemic left by the pandemic.

“Once we come back from school closures, we’ll definitely see a gap in stamina and endurance,” Mr Rupton said.

“There is a little gap in swimming stamina and it takes time to build up.”

Schools track students’ fitness levels with beep tests.

“Before Covid, our average score for 12 to 15 year olds was 9.5, which is considered excellent. Immediately after Covid, our average score dropped by more than two points to an average score of 7.3,” he said.

“With the resumption of sport and physical activity, we are now seeing a return to pre-Covid levels of fitness for our students.”

Some teenage students at the school have not returned to in-person classes for almost a year, and at various points the school’s swimming pool has been closed for more than 12 months.

Even before the pandemic, Mr Lupton said, engaging students who had no passion for sports and keeping them physically active was a challenge.

One answer is to introduce unconventional exercise.

“It’s about physical activity in disguise. It keeps kids active, gets their heart rate up and moving, but finds fun,” he said.

The school arranges physical education and swimming lessons for all students, appoints a full-time swimming coach, and organises running, cycling and cross country championships.

It built a climbing wall on its junior campus and followed the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Education and Knowledge Policy for screening students and recording their body mass index.

Encourage healthy eating plans

“We have a whole package of opportunities to increase physical activity, but we’re also focusing on education around what we’re eating and how we’re trying to be sustainable,” Mr Rupton said.

He said that when he was walking around the school at lunchtime, he sometimes saw very unhealthy food in lunch boxes.

“I don’t want to criticize parents because as a parent, I know how hard it can be at times, but it’s clear that some parts need to shift to healthier and sustainable eating patterns.”

The school plans to launch a Pediatric Nutrition Program In February, for students, parents and teachers aged 3 to 18.

The school’s health coordinator, Lauren Hughes, said the six-week programme would teach families about macronutrients and work to retrain children’s palate so they can learn to enjoy fruit and whole foods rather than fast food.

It will also educate families about reading nutrition labels, balanced lunch boxes, and the minerals and vitamins children need.

“Our mission is not to get everyone to cut out their favourite food. It’s largely an enrichment approach, not a deprivation,” Ms Hughes said.

“It’s teaching kids how to take care of themselves and having a conversation about the joy food brings us.

“What often happened in the past was you could teach your kids what you wanted and think you were empowering them. Then they came home and their parents took them to McDonald’s. So it really had to be a whole family approach.”

Updated: November 10, 2022 10:39 AM