SCHOOL pupils' packed lunches have been inspected in a bid to help tackle childhood obesity.

Members of Friends of Thornbury checked the contents of 300 lunch boxes today at Thornbury Primary School and children who had a healthy pack-up were rewarded with stickers.

Lunches were also checked in September, and will be looked at again in July, to see if they contents are getting healthier.

The inspections are part of the Dick Lane school's three-year health and wellbeing programme, which started in September.

Other events, for teachers, parents and pupils, have included healthy cooking clubs and encouraging children to cycle to school.

Some children also visited Pizza Express in Horsforth to learn how to make healthy pizzas.

Head teacher Clare Daddy said: "It's been going really well. The children have received it well.

"It's about what we can be doing for the children now to kickstart them for the rest of their lives.

"The parents we have been working with are very passionate, and positive, about it. It's good that we are working together."

The school also runs Cook and Eat sessions, as part of the programme, where pupils' mothers are encouraged to change the way they prepare food and the ingredients they use.

The mothers were given healthy food advice and discussed how to make their children's favourite foods in a more healthy way.

The sessions, which started in September last year, have proved a success, with the group changing their food choices at home and passing on new tips to family and friends.

Exercise and sports sessions have also been held as part of after-school clubs.

Earlier this week, Bradford and Airedale Health and Wellbeing Board heard that by the age of 11, 27 per cent of the most deprived children were obese, compared to 12.9 per cent of the least deprived.

Mrs Daddy said: "Our school is in BD3, a very deprived area with high rates of obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

"We are hoping that by helping families make healthier lifestyle choices, the school's health and wellbeing programme will have a positive impact on local people. Obesity is a huge concern in this area."

CityConnect, an organisation working to make it easier and safer to get around by foot or by bike, is aiming to make Thornbury Primary School a bike-friendly school and held two cycling events there last year.

The group's £29.1 million cycle superhighway between Leeds and Bradford, which includes a section near the school at Thornbury roundabout, will open this spring.