With the increased profile of the healthy lifestyle agenda there is much contradictory information circulating. We have gathered current national guidelines and advice that you might like to pass on your pupils.

Children should take part in physical activity for an hour a day (this could be playing tag, skipping or cycling, for example)

We should eat five portions of fresh fruit or vegetables a day (a portion is a handful)

We need calories, salt, sugar, fat and saturates every day to stay fit and well. But too much can make us ill in the long term. Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) have been calculated for the five key nutrients.

   The GDA for calories for an average adult is 2000
   The GDA for sugars for an average adult is 90g.
   The GDA for fat for an average adult is 70g.
   The GDA for saturates for an average adult is 20g
   The GDA for salt for an average adult is 6g.

There are no formal guidelines on personal hygiene – in fact advice is often contradictory. You might like to take the opportunity to discuss with pupils the following:

 Hands should be washed before eating or cooking and after anything where there might be germs: using the toilet, playing in dirt or with animals, taking out rubbish, coughing or sneezing on your hands etc You could write a list with your class of when else hands should be washed..

 Shower or take a bath regularly. Ask how often members of your class shower or bath.

 Faces should be washed regularly. Ask how often memebers of your class wash their faces.

Advice about washing hair is often contradictory, and might depend on hair type, length of hair etc. (although regular hair care will help the early detection of head lice). See what your class say about washing or brushing their hair

Dentists recommend that teeth are brushed at least twice a day, but some people brush three times and floss and rinse with mouth wash. What do your class think?