Reverse The Trend Foundation

Childhood obesity rates are at crisis levels in the UK. Our young people are amongst the most overweight in Europe and are experiencing increasing levels of mental health issues. We aim to reverse this trend within this generation of children. To that end, we have developed a highly effective, scalable, behavioural change programme called Neuronimo. The aim of the Neuronimo Programme is to provide young people with the opportunity to lead and benefit from changes that will improve their social, emotional and physical wellbeing around childhood obesity and mental health. This young person led programme will help children aged 5 to 18 identify and regulate emotions using research in the fields of developmental cognitive neuroscience, social and emotional learning (SEL) and positive psychology. Young people will learn to recognize simple cues in their environment which influence their eating and movement patterns. Young people will also engage with local businesses and communities and explore the role they play in driving unconscious decision making behaviours that cause an imbalance in energy. Young people will share knowledge of improving physical, emotional and nutritional health in the workplace with local businesses as part of a sustainable funding model. Businesses will also learn how to introduce healthy ‘cues’ in their environment to benefit staff and young people in the community. Initially adopting a harm reduction approach, the programme is designed for maximum impact with a universal uptake. Neuronimo makes positive behavioural change as easy as possible, by minimizing the time, effort and costs of improving the diet and exercise and emotional health of children.