From today, thousands of Brisbane school children will have the chance to participate in an innovative program aimed at tackling the growing issue of childhood obesity in Queensland.

Senior Lions players Justin Sherman and Daniel Rich launched a joint program between MBF, the Brisbane Lions and AFL Queensland to encourage Brisbane kids to lead healthier, happier and longer lives.

30 children at Ascot State School were given the first opportunity to participate in the innovative and practical 10-week course, called the MBF Schools Assist program.

The MBF Schools Assist program uses AFL as the medium to focus on the health benefits of physical activity, exercise and good nutrition.

MBF’s Queensland General Manager, Chris Smedley, said this was particularly important given a recent report from the State Department of Health found that one in five Queensland children (21.1per cent) aged five to 17 were measured as either overweight (16.2 per cent) or obese (4.9 per cent).

The research also showed the main causes of childhood obesity included a lack of physical activity, poor diet and poor family eating habits.*

“This fantastic initiative aligns our long-term goal of helping people lead healthier, happier and longer lives by encouraging the next generation to make positive lifestyle choices through our Aussie passion for football and fitness,” Smedley said.

The MBF Schools Assist program will be available to thousands of children at 160 schools across Brisbane. Each of these schools will receive essential sporting equipment such as bibs, goal posts, footballs, bags and a special MBF Schools Assist activity booklet that helps to educate students on making positive lifestyle choices in a fun way.

Around 70 of these schools will receive visits from AFLQ Development Officers and participate in the 10-week program that teaches the children how to use the kit and how to participate in AFL Rec (Recreational) Footy.

The AFL Rec Footy concept teaches students all the elements of a successful football competition such as good nutrition, training habits, ball skills, assembling a team, establishing fixtures and how to run the competition. The children then participate in their own eight-week intra school competition.

Lions players will also visit a number of schools to support the AFLQ Development Officers with skills sessions, Rec Footy games and to motivate the students to reach their personal goals.

Smedley went on to say, “MBF is proud to partner with AFLQ and the Lions to deliver a practical program that will encourage more than 15,000 children to take positive steps towards a healthier life.”

Brisbane Lions CEO Michael Bowers said he was sure the players would help inspire local children to make healthier choices for life.

“MBF, AFLQ and the Brisbane Lions working together is a natural and powerful combination for helping to curb childhood obesity. It’s also very important for youth to hear about the right things to do and to learn from positive and local role models that they see and hear in the media,” he said.