Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers continued their campaign to get more Leicestershire school children healthy and active last week by teaching them about the importance of nutrition and exercise.
Injecting a little fun into proceedings, pupils from King Edward VII Science and Sport College in Coalville got to try their hand at creating their very own healthy smoothie by peddling away on a special smoothie bike.
The purpose of the smoothie bike is to promote a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, coupled with a lifestyle rich in activity. Taking it in turns, the pupils chose their fruit and vegetables, jumped on a bike, and blended their drinks, getting to enjoy the fruits of their labour after.
This latest activity forms part of the organisations’ ‘Get on Your Bike’ campaign which is designed to get school children in Leicestershire to be more active and spend more time cycling. The initiative was sparked by research conducted as part of the campaign which revealed that only 19% of Leicestershire secondary school children are getting their recommended 60 minutes of exercise per day.
Over the last few weeks, Aggregate Industries and Leicester Tigers have been going into schools across the county to chat about topics ranging from ‘sustainability’ and how cycling can help the environment, to ‘cycle safety’ and how to stay safe whilst on the road.
Donna Hunt, Head of Sustainability at Aggregate Industries, attended the session and said: “Our campaign is all about getting people active, and doing it in a sustainable way such as cycling, which not only helps with a child’s fitness but also helps the environment too.
“However, whilst it’s important to remain active, it’s equally important to eat a healthy and balanced diet. So what better way to demonstrate both elements than getting the pupils to jump on a smoothie bike? The kids had lots of fun peddling away and got to enjoy a refreshing and healthy smoothie at the end of it.”
Joe Reynolds, Rugby Development Officer at Leicester Tigers, who runs the schools programme, added: “As part of our sessions, we extensively cover the importance of exercise by getting the school children to play rugby to not only get them moving, but learn the importance of working as a team. It was nice to shift the focus onto healthy eating and how fruit and vegetables play an important part in that.”
The Get on Your Bike campaign forms part of the two organisations’ Concrete Rugby initiative, which champions a healthy lifestyle, team work and self-confidence in young people through the introduction of key rugby skills. It will have reached out to more than 1,500 Leicestershire students aged 11-14 by the end of the 2017/18 school year.
Aggregate Industries is also hosting a social media campaign, encouraging pupils to get involved by asking a friend to take pictures or videos of them with their bike (in a safe space) and tweeting @aggregateuk, using the hashtag #getonyourbike.
