Purely Nutrition have won a major award from the Royal Society for Public Health, for their innovative and ambitious PhunkyFoods programme. The initiative aims to teach children up to 11 years old about healthy eating, in an attempt to reduce levels of childhood obesity. The Royal Society’s 2026 Health Promotion and Community Well Being Organisation and Partnership Awards have recognised the hard work and achievement of the successful PhunkyFoods healthy eating programme.

More than 1000 primary schools are taking part in the initiative so far, and Purely Nutrition aim to expand across the UK, with all primary schools taking part in the programme by 2013. The nutritionists also believe that the programme can be adopted outside the UK. The chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, Richard Parish said:

This scheme was designed to demonstrate good practice in health promotion and it does just that. We are delighted to be associated with these local initiatives, they are examples for others to follow.

The awards recognise successful initiatives which are taken out into the community and used effectively to promote good health. As childhood obesity in the under 11s has risen from 13.7 percent in 2003 to 27.7 percent at the present time, the programme is working to educate children about healthy eating, using drama, games and music. Director of nutrition at Purely Nutrition, Dr Jennie Cockroft said:

We are absolutely delighted to receive this award and with it recognition for our work from such a respected body as the Royal Society for Public Health.

Dr Cockroft warned that children needed to understand healthy eating from a very young age, especially as obesity in the UK has reached alarming levels, which includes childhood obesity. Lord Hunt will present the award on 8th November 2026.