AS a parent feeding your child is always a balancing act between getting them to eat and eat healthily.

You want to make sure they have all the right things in the right amounts and not too many of the bad ones.

But as our lives get busier it is easy to opt for convenience and get into bad habits. And as children tend to exercise less these days they can soon become unfit and a little overweight.

Sometimes we need a little extra support to point us in the right direction. In Exeter there is a new free course aimed at helping children and their families become fitter and healthier.

The Mend programme is being offered through Clifton Hill Sports Centre and runs after school twice a week for 10 weeks. Mend stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it! and is a Government initiative which was launched six years ago. Around 4,000 families are now on the scheme at 300 centres across the country.

It was introduced in Exeter last October by Graham Webber, fitness manager at Clifton Hill. It is aimed at children aged eight to 13 and each two-hour session includes advice for the whole family on food and nutrition and a fitness and activity hour for the youngsters.

Graham said the first course was a great success and achieved results way beyond his expectations.

"After the 10 weeks the youngsters had lost an average of two inches from their tummies and had increased their activity by more than two hours a week.

"The programme is about encouraging a healthy lifestyle for the whole family. If the children do lose weight then that is a bonus. We want to get the whole family involved in helping their children change their eating habits, learn about nutrition and start getting active."

As well as learning alongside their parents about the foods our bodies need to stay healthy, children take part in games and activities at the sports hall at Clifton Hill and in swimming sessions at Pyramids Pool. These are run by instructors Gary and Terri.

Graham said: "The programme helps boost confidence and self-esteem. It is very successful throughout this country because it really works. It is about what foods are good for you, which ones you should eat less of, portion control and the things that trigger bad eating habits.

"By offering a supportive environment we empower families to make dramatic improvements to their diets, fitness levels and overall health. Rather than pointing the finger and telling them what to do, we give them information which allows them to make their own informed choices."

Lisa Bilby and her eight-year-old daughter Kayleigh have found the diet and nutritional advice useful.

"It has changed the way we eat as a family," said Lisa. "We get lots of information about foods that are good for you and ones that we should be eating less of."

Kayleigh, a pupil at Montgomery Primary, said she enjoyed the exercise sessions — particularly the swimming. "I do a lot more since we have been coming to the sessions," she said. "I would recommend it to other youngsters. It is great fun."

Gillian Fawcett said she saw the posters for the course and decided to give it a try.

"I knew as a family we were eating the wrong things, but I did not really know how to put it right. The sessions have pointed us in the right direction. It has also got us all doing more exercise together, which is great.

"We are not eating any less, we are just eating different things. The sessions teach the parents as well as the children about a healthy diet."

Her son Xavier, 11, a pupil at Exeter Junior School, likes the different activities and games at the sessions.

"They are fun. We get to do something different most weeks," he said.

Julie Perris attends the sessions with her two sons Adam, aged six, and Thomas, nine.

"We all enjoy it," she said. "The boys like the activities and I am learning how we can eat a healthier diet."

The programme was developed at University College London Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital and Graham had to undertake special training to run it.

The next course starts after Easter and although places are limited, there are still some available. Mend is lottery funded so it is free to join, but parents have to attend the sessions with their youngsters. For details visit www.mendprogramme.org or call Graham on 01392 253353.