Thomsons In Tonga: Prevention of Childhood Obesity

Our projection School Gardens and Prevention of Childhood Obesity has been approved. We are partnered with Ministry of Health (MoH)- Healthy Promotions Unit and The World Health Organization (WHO). This program started last year with 8 preschools.This year there are 11 schools. LDS Charities is providing for 3 preschools - Kologna, Folaha, and Upper Room Kindergarten in Ha'ateiho.

We are excited about this project. Diabetes and other NCDs continue to rise in Tonga. Overweight and obesity are modifiable risk factors, with unhealthy eating and physical inactivity major contributing factors. Tonga Global Health Survey 2017 indicates 55% of Tonga young population already overweight. A significant change in diet and exercise is needed to change this trend.

MoH is directing their efforts toward young children to improve health knowledge, attitude, and behavior by promoting healthy eating and physical activity at early childhood education centers and also to increase access to healthy food and water. We have been asked to help bring forward their plan for vegetable gardening, healthy eating at school, drinking water rather than sugary drinks, and exercise equipment to promote physical activity.

We visited a preschool in Fangaloto that benefited from the project last year. They were so excited to see us (even though we did not provide equipment to them -- WHO did). They sang songs to us with much gusto.

We are in the process of getting things ordered. Each school will receive a water tank and guttering on the building. The teacher will be asked to only allow water for drinks in the school -- essentially a NO SUGAR ZONE.

We will help teachers, children, and parents build a garden. They will plant, weed, harvest, and eat the vegetables for snacks at school. We will provide a 2-burner counter-top stove for cooking lunches.

We will provide slide, jumping balls, hula hoops, little trampoline (a foot high), a teeter totter that converts to a walking board like a balance beam, rugby and net balls.

Once all the equipment arrives from New Zealand, we will go to the schools and have a handover. We hope to set up an obstacle course with the equipment -- climb up the walking board, jump down, hop through some hula hoops, jump on the trampoline, jump off, throw balls through hula hoops, run over to the slide - climb up and slide down. Start over again. We think this will be a fun way to include the children in the handover.

This week the Prevention of Childhood Obesity Program was launched. WHO was on board for this project before we were asked to help so their equipment has arrived and they wanted to get it to their schools. We were invited to the launch as it is for the whole program. We were very pleased the launch was at Ma'amalo Kindergarten because it is connected to the Methodist School we did a project in last October. Good memories, friendships renewed.