Worried your kid is unhealthy? Register for free Gold Coast study

A WORLD-FIRST study aiming to tackle childhood obesity is looking for 40 overweight or unhealthy Gold Coast kids to take part. Find out why.

Ross Kingsley, physical education trainer of 22 years and founder of running club RK Pod, training his 13 year old son, Hudson Kingsley at Pizzey Park ahead of Project GRIT. Picture Glenn Hampson

HUDSON Kingsley is a big kid for his age and struggles to control his weight, but he isn’t backing down in the battle.

And that makes him a prime candidate for a landmark study being run on the Gold Coast.

Project GRIT (Growth Resilience Insights Thrive) is seeking overweight or unhealthy children for a free 12-week program focused on researching and reducing childhood obesity.

Ross Kingsley training his 13 year old son, Hudson Kingsley, at Pizzey Park. Picture Glenn Hampson

It was set up by a group of experts including doctors, psychologists and dietitians associated with a private clinic, Weight Loss Solutions Australia, in response to reports 1.2 million children nationwide — or one in four kids — are overweight or obese.

Hudson, son of fitness trainer Ross Kingsley, is involved despite suffering a condition in which his knees are prone to sudden dislocation.

“Hudson’s big. At 13 he’s over 6 foot (1.8m) and he’s 90kg,” Mr Kingsley said.

“He knows himself that it’s hard for him to run and keep weight off.’’

Being raised in a healthy environment had heightened Hudson’s awareness of the need for him to focus on diet to compensate for physical restrictions.

Even though Hudson finds it hard to exercise, being raised in a healthy household has encouraged him to be holistically health. Picture Glenn Hampson

“Being fit and being aware of what he eats is very important for him,’’ Mr Kingsley said.

“He gets upset that he struggles, but he wants to be in the program and that’s what it’s about — getting kids excited to be fit and healthy.”

Mr Kingsley said it was common for the effects of obesity and unhealthy lifestyle to make children feel like they were a burden. GRIT was aimed at addressing that too.

“Kids who might be overweight are definitely not as confident and not as active as their peers,” he said.

“They’re less likely to participate, they feel isolated and a little bit different.

“All kids want to play team sports but they might feel they’re letting others down if they do — their teammates might not actually think that, but that’s how they feel.

“It can be a really upsetting thing to witness.

Mr Kingsley said overweight children can feel isolated in a school setting and withdraw from physical activity (AAP Image/ Morgan Sette).

“That’s the underrated part of it. If you get your fitness up a huge by-product is confidence and improved mental health.”

The program is seeking children aged 7 to 12, but although that is the preferred age spread there are exceptions for special cases like Hudson.

Project GRIT is being funded by Felicity Cohen, CEO of Weight Loss Solutions Australia (WLSA), a company focused on surgical weight loss.

But even though tackling obesity and weight loss drive Ms Cohen’s business, she said her passion was beating the obesity epidemic for good.

“I believe I have a moral and ethical obligation to really consider what we are doing for future generations,” she said.

Weight Loss Solutions Australia CEO and founder Felicity Cohen is funding the study.

“We’re not going to run out of overweight adults. We need to create a system to prevent surgery.

“My mission is in reducing obesity in Australia and it’s not being done properly.”

Ms Cohen is funding Project GRIT, with the aim of it becoming a blueprint for future programs to put a brake on obesity rates in children.

“The obesity problem in Australia and the world is astounding, actually,” Mr Kingsley said.

“Project GRIT is perfect for gathering the data we need to present to the government to get further funding into stopping childhood obesity.

“It hasn’t been done anywhere else in the world because it’s sensitive subject and it’s difficult to get data on children.

“But if you have a child who’s perhaps a little inactive, or you’re concerned at all, this is a great opportunity to be involved in a program that’s free.”

Making the exercise fun will be a primary focus for Mr Kingsley (AAP Image/ Justin Sanson).

The study begins with a three-week respiratory, psychological and dietary analysis, followed by six weeks of physical training sessions with support from a psychologist and dietitian.

The final three weeks repeat the first steps to garner any improvements or changes, specifically in oxygen uptake, otherwise known as VO2 levels.

“VO2 is going to become the single biggest and most important measure for children and adult health in the future,” Mr Kingsley said.

“It’s a measure of aerobic ability — you can have a BMI in the right range and still be unhealthy and vice versa.

“The differences in the children’s VO2 levels before and after training is what we’ll present to the government and hopefully that will lead to funding.”

To register for Project GRIT, go to wlsa.com.au/grit