Four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah took to the track with Isle of Dogs pupils as part of the Daily Mile initiative.
He joined the mayor of London Sadiq Khan, mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs and the founder of the Daily Mile campaign, Elaine Wyllie, marked the launch of the initiative aimed at getting children more active and living healthier lifestyle today (Monday) at Cubitt Town Junior School.
The Daily Mile involves children running or jogging at their own pace in the fresh air every day, with the aim to run or jog for a full 15 minutes.
Following the revelation that four in 10 Year 6 pupils in Tower Hamlets were classified as overweight or obese, Sir Mo said: “This is a great way of getting kids active.
“It’s the best way to combat childhood obesity, the best thing for us to do is to recognise the problem of childhood obesity as a problem and do something about it by getting kids active.”
Mr Khan said he believed the Daily Mile campaign was really important in getting children active and leading a healthy lifestyle.
However he was keen to stress that by itself the Daily Mile was not going to solve the overall problem of childhood obesity.
He said: “One of the things we are consulting on is banning fast food adverts on the TfL system, including tubes and buses.
“We are also consulting on plans to stop takeaways opening within 400 metres of schools and encouraging more people to walk, cycle and use public transport.”
Mr Khan also outlined how the £45million Young Londoners Fund is available for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to support education, sporting and cultural activities.
He added: “When you join a sports club, you’re less likely to be involved in criminality or joining a criminal gang.”
Cubitt Town headteacher Robyn Bruce said: “We talked to children about healthy eating and living and it didn’t have as much impact.”
She highlighted how living in an area with poverty and a number of fast food outlets, the school took a different approach.
She said: “This initiative is cheap, it didn’t cost me anything except the running track, doesn’t take much time and the children get to run everyday.”
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