Health Promotion

News

Drinking fountains shortage 'bad for child health'

Children’s Food Campaign finds that the vast majority of public parks around the UK have no public drinking fountains. This encourages thirsty children to turn to sugary alternatives or go without, both of which are bad for their health.

Professor Richard Parish, Chief Executive of RSPH [Royal Society for Public Health], said “Access to clean water is essential for our wellbeing and health. Drinking plenty of water keeps you hydrated, which in turn can improve mental and physical performance, as well as aiding proper digestion. Too little water can lead to headaches. Water, which is calorie free, is an excellent alternative to soft sugary drinks and will help combat obesity and tooth decay. You cannot go wrong with water!” Find out more>

Medikidz launched

A new initiative in health education for young people, Medikidz, was recently launched to address the lack of information available to help children understand their conditions.

Written by doctors and transformed into engaging comic books, each novel is designed to help young patients aged 8-15 understand and gain ownership of their condition by harnessing the power of vibrant superhero characters. Their titles include asthma, autism, and epilepsy, and have distributed nearly 500,000 books worldwide since their launch in September 2009. Medikidz have also started a series explaining adult conditions to children, including 'Medikidz explain Breast Cancer,' and 'Medikidz explain Melanoma' which will look to targeting the issues that arise for a child when their parent falls ill.

For more information on Medikidz, please visit www.medikidz.com or email contact@medikidz.com