Health and Nutrition

Virtual College Helps Tackle the Child Obesity Epidemic

Ilkley (UK), March 2012 - Virtual College has introduced a brand-new online course aimed at helping tackle the obesity epidemic among young children. "Right from the Start with HENRY" has been developed to provide parents and carers with detailed information on how they can help provide their family with a healthy lifestyle right from the start.




HENRY stands for Health Exercise and Nutrition for the Really Young, and this course covers a range of related topics including healthy eating patterns and being active, and includes a section on recommended reading and resources. As the course is online, the learners can access the training at a time, pace, and place that suits them; the Virtual College system bookmarks their progress.

Virtual College Marketing Manager Peter Hilliard is enthusiastic about the course. "We now know that being overweight is a major health problem and that the number of overweight adults and children continues to rise. Younger and younger children are affected, and as many as one in four children now start school already overweight. We believe our course will go some way to helping alleviate the very serious issue that faces our nation."

Virtual College, based in Ilkley, was established more than fifteen years ago and has recently achieved its 700,000-registered-online-learners milestone. Among its extensive range of over 150 courses, several cover obesity-related topics; Virtual College is also a leading training provider to the NHS.