Children at a Bradford primary school will be leading the way in a national initiative to help more than 3,000 youngsters combat obesity.

St Columba’s RC Primary in Tong Street is the first in the district to sign-up to Activ-eat, a programme to encourage youngsters to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Armed with fruit and juicers, volunteers from Knowles Court residential home in Holme Wood, Bradford, will teach children about healthy eating.

They will give children the chance to make healthy smoothie drinks, taste fruits from around the world and play games which highlight the importance of eating fruit and vegetables.

St Columba head teacher, Peter Spillane, said it was “vital” that children learn the importance of healthy eating as early as possible.

The initiative comes amid growing concerns over childhood obesity in the UK, with one in four children starting school overweight or obese.

It follows the announcement last week by health secretary Alan Johnson of a pilot scheme offering children free school meals to encourage healthy eating. Activ-eat, run by healthcare company Bupa in support of the government’s Government’s National Healthy Schools Programme, will also encourage them to do more physical activity.

Mr Spillane said: “It’s vital that children learn the importance of healthy eating as early as possible.

“Because they often learn best when they are relaxed and having fun, Activ-eat has the potential to make a real difference to how children view fruit and vegetables. Hopefully, it will make more get a taste for healthy foods they might not otherwise have tried.”

Nicole Humphreys, community relations manager at Bupa, which runs Knowles Court, said: “Research clearly shows that childhood obesity is on the increase across the UK and we want to make sure we are playing a part in combating this problem.

“We’ve had great feedback from both teachers and parents who took part in the initial pilot of Activ-eat and we now plan to reach well over 3,000 children through the UK-wide launch of the initiative.

Activ-eat will be rolled-out to 3,240 children across 27 schools in the UK by the end of 2009. The initiative will begin in Bradford in November.