Children at Ivybridge School and College discover the secrets and benefits of good nutrition as Tanita pilots new nutritional advice scheme

Tanita, a world leader in body and health monitoring technologies, has spent a day introducing children and young adults into the art of looking after their health and wellbeing and boosting mental and physical performance through good nutrition.

Tanita UK visited the Ivybridge School and College in Ivybridge, Devon, last week as part of a newly launched pilot scheme to organise demonstrations and workshops for children around the UK to show them how exciting and interesting the science of nutrition can be – and the benefits to be gained from eating the right foods and drinking water.

“We know that kids of all ages can benefit hugely when it comes to both mental and physical performance if they are encouraged to dump the junk food they are constantly tempted with,” said Tanita UK nutrition coach Matt Lawson.

Lawson noted how child obesity in the UK has jumped in the UK, with NHS Digital reporting that more than one in three 10-year olds in England (34.2 per cent) were either overweight or obese in 2016-17.

A Registered Dietitian with a Masters degree in Nutrition, Matt has worked with Team GB at international level, coaching the likes of Olympic Gold medalists Natalie Blake, and won the 2016 Coach of the Year award for his work with Women’s football teams.

Matt enthralled his young audience by explaining the science behind achieving top performance on the sporting field.

“The food we eat plays a huge role when it comes down to gaining that extra ten yards,” Matt explained.

Tanita UK commercial manager Simon Bradeley said that Tanita views helping schools to provide school children the right nutritional advice and helping them understand how it relates to their performance as a key contribution to wellbeing in the wider community.

“This is especially important as tightening council and school budgets is leading to subjects like physical education being taken off the curriculum,” said Bradeley. A study by London Councils saw 70 per cent of responding London schools reporting budget cuts in recent years, for example.

Bradeley noted how technology such as Tanita’s BIA solutions allows people to quickly scan their bodies and gain insights that allow them to fine-tune nutrition and exercise goals.

Measuring your body is made easy by the state-of-the-art Tanita body monitoring scales, whether using professional or consumer devices like the RD-545. Just step on and pick up the handles. Within 15 seconds, the advanced Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) will give you more than 20 different health readings that reveal the muscle and fat percentages of each of your arms and legs, as well as your trunk. You’ll instantly be able to spot muscle imbalances and set goals for specific areas.

Andy Taylor, Director of Athletic Development at Ivybridge Community College, said having Tanita and Matt Lawson come along to visit the school was highly positive.

“In an ideal world we should all be obsessed with putting the right food into ourselves to improve our mental abilities and physical performance, regardless of whether its on a sports field or not,” Taylor said.

For more information, please contact PR Officer David Noble at 07785 302694 or noble.david@icloud.com