Growing Well Growing Healthy (GWGH) is an exclusive free service for the residence of Stockton-on-Tees which supports families to maintain a healthy lifestyle by preventing and treating childhood obesity.
Our Growing Well Growing Healthy 0-4 Infant feeding team offers support to new parents on the benefits of nutrition from your child’s earliest days. Our Infant Feeding Coordinator, Nurses, Health Visitors and Early Years Lifestyle practitioners offer a wide range of services from breastfeeding and formula support to nutrition and activity advice as our children grow into their school years.
Supported by the NCMP programme, Growing Well Growing Healthy 5-19’s Healthy Child Screeners asses children’s height and weight in schools across Stockton on Tees; to help identify where support is needed in the community.
Our 5-19 team specialise in the treatment of excess weight in young people by working closely with children, young people and their families to offer nutrition and physical activity advice. This team is made up of Lifestyle Practitioners who are registered nutritionists, sports science graduates, teachers and experienced public health professionals.
Our menu of programmes can be delivered from the comfort of your own home, in the community or online. For more information about how Growing Well Growing Healthy can help your family live healthier, happier lives, read more here and follow our social media pages in the tabs above.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get fruit and vegetables into your child's diet but it is important to try and increase their intake where possible. The Eatwell Guide shows us that we can in fact get more from our 5 a day in the foods we already eat. Frozen, tinned and fresh vegetables all count towards your 5 a day. This means sauces made from tinned tomatoes, microwave packet vegetables and everything you see in your local produce department all count!
Sugar from refined sources such as sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks are considered empty calories. This means that these foods hold no nutritional value. Reducing sugar is an excellent way to start making healthier choices. One of the best ways to reduce your sugar intake is to look at making some sensible swaps. This can include switching to low sugar cereals at breakfast times, reducing fizzy drinks and swapping to reduced sugar varieties of items such as tomato ketchup and baked beans. Sugar is important to a healthy and balanced lifestyle and our children’s recommended intake should be met by eating fruit.
How much food your child requires is related to how much energy their body can use and therefore food intake differs from person to person. Factors such as age, gender, height and weight can affect how much food a person needs to consume. This is known as portion control. Portion control allows children to consume the right amount of food without over eating. To learn more about portion control and your child's energy requirements, check out our portion control section here.