TUESDAY, 18 DECEMBER, 2018

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Smarty the penguin wishes you a happy, healthy holiday

NHS Tayside’s winter health guru Smarty the penguin has teamed up with the Paediatric Overweight Service Tayside (POST) for top festive tips to avoid weight worries this winter.

Everyone enjoys catching up with friends and family during the festive period and this often involves food and lots of it! Smarty and POST want families and their little elves to have fun over Christmas while avoiding piling on the pounds.

Smarty, NHS Tayside’s health ‘spokespenguin’, said, “At this time of year with so many Christmas parties and fancy festive treats around, it can be easy to lose track of just how much we eat and drink. All of these little extras here and there can really add up.

“And don’t forget that it is important to keep active this festive season, so why not go for a family winter walk? If it’s icy, be careful and walk like me! You can see how to do the penguin walk on my website www.keepwellinwinter.scot.nhs.uk or on the NHS Tayside social media pages.”

Nutrition & dietetics service lead Gillian McFarlane said, “At Christmas we’re always surrounded by lots of lovely food and drink. Whilst there is no reason to feel guilty about enjoying yourself, it’s worth remembering that, on average, people gain about 5lbs (2kg) over Christmas.

“Often people forget all about the calories in their favourite drink. To help moderate your intake try alternating your alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic ones or using diet mixers with spirits to make a longer lasting drink. Beware of cocktails, punch or creamy liqueurs as these can be calorie-loaded. Of course once you’ve had a few drinks your inhibitions may be lowered and before you know it you have consumed the equivalent of a whole meal in nibbles!

“Also consider how many selection boxes and sweeties your children get over the festive period. Try to limit the amount they eat and remember to get active – it would take six hours of walking to burn off the calories from a large selection box.”

Why not take a few moments this year to consider Smarty’s tips to avoid the post-Christmas Santa tummy:

• Remove the skin from the turkey

• Choose light meat rather than dark meat

• Cook the turkey on a trivet so it’s not sitting in the fat all the time whilst cooking

• Instead of sausage meat-based stuffing try a chestnut or fruit-based version

• Choose large roast potatoes instead of smaller ones, they absorb less fat during cooking. The same applies to parsnips

• Make bread sauce with skimmed milk

• When making gravy, let the fat from the turkey juices rise to the surface, then skim it off and use what’s left behind

• Have lots of vegetables but don’t add butter or margarine to them

• Think about how full you are before having second helpings

If you are thinking about trying to shift a few pounds in the New Year, here are a few options you can consider.

For everyone:

A free, 12-week weight loss guide is available on the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight

For men and women aged 35-65 years:

Football Fans in Training offers 12 free sessions on healthy eating and physical activity at your local football club. Find out more at www.spfltrust.org.uk/ffit/

For women aged 16-45 years:

12 free sessions at Weight Watchers are available if you are not pregnant and are currently not attending Weight Watchers. Find out more by calling 0345 602 7068 and quoting WWRS073

For children:

If you have any concerns about your child’s weight you can contact POST (Paediatric Overweight Service Tayside) in confidence on 01738 473784 or email post.tayside@nhs.net

For top tips to keep healthy all year round follow POST on Facebook www.facebook.com/nhstaysidePOST and twitter @POSTNHST

Contact:

Carin Pettersson

NHS Tayside Communications

01382 740716