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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

This is a public health announcement

Test everyone’s knowledge of healthy lifestyle dos and don’ts, before putting together TV adverts to help the masses.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • A4 paper
  • Access to a computer
  • A video camera or device that can record video and audio, one per group

What makes up a healthy lifestyle?

Learn about living healthily by heading over to our healthy lifestyles page.

Healthy top tips

Before you begin

  • The person leading the activity should make sure that there are enough resources for each group. Each person in each group will need a pen or pencil and some paper, while each group will need at least one computer or device with internet access to do research. Make sure that the internet and video cameras/devices are working properly.
  • If your meeting place doesn’t have an internet connection or the necessary equipment, you should collect hard copy resources (such as factsheets, leaflets, news articles) for the groups to use in their research. These can be downloaded and printed at a local library or picked up around the local area. Use the ‘Quiz questions’ below as a guide to see what kind of information to collect. Look out for other interesting (possibly local) statistics too.

Get quizzical

  1. Everyone should split into small groups. The person leading the activity should give a computer or mobile device with internet access to each group, as well as pens or pencils and paper.
  2. Tell the groups to do research and find out everything they can about the following subjects: Sleep guidelines and benefits, Healthy and balanced diets, Dangers of smoking, Alcohol and drugs, and Ways to quit smoking, alcohol and drugs.
  1. Give everyone 15 minutes to do their research. Encourage the groups to write down facts and figures that they discover.
  2. When this time has passed, the person leading the activity should ask the 'Quiz questions' listed below.
  3. When all the questions have been asked, read out the answers. Everyone should try to write down the facts and figures they learned from doing the quiz.
  1. How many hours sleep should a 14-year-old get each night?
  2. How many portions of fruit and vegetables should you eat each day?
  3. How many portions of oily fish are recommended every week?
  4. Name 5 benefits of a good night’s sleep (1 point for each)
  5. What makes smoking addictive?
  6. To the nearest million, how many people in the UK smoke cigarettes?
  7. How many types of cancer are caused by smoking?
  8. What age can you legally drink alcohol in a pub in the UK?
  9. To the nearest 10%, how many young people (aged 11-15) in England have drunk alcohol at least once?
  10. True or False: Most violent crimes happen under the influence of alcohol?
  11. True or False: If a person buys an ecstasy tablet for themselves and one for their friends, they could be charged with supplying a Class A drug. (Bonus: what is the penalty for supplying a Class A drug?)
  12. Do more people die each year from alcohol or from heroin?
  13. What is the recommended weekly limit of units of alcohol?
  1. How many hours sleep should a 14-year-old get each night?

8-10 hours

  1. How many portions of fruit and vegetables should you eat each day?

At least five portions

  1. How many portions of oily fish are recommended every week?

Two portions

  1. Name 5 benefits of a good night’s sleep

Anything from:

  • Promotes growth
  • Helps the heart
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Boosts the immune system
  • Increases attention span
  • Boosts learning
  • Increased energy levels
  • Improves your mood
  • Reduces stress
  1. What makes smoking addictive?

Nicotine

  1. To the nearest million, how many people in the UK smoke cigarettes?

9.4million (1 in 5 UK adults) – stats from 2013

  1. How many types of cancer are caused by smoking?

Smoking causes at least 15 different types of cancer: lung, larynx, oesophagus, oral cavity, nasopharynx, pharynx, bladder, pancreas, kidney, liver, stomach, bowel, cervix, leukaemia, and ovarian cancers.

  1. What age can you legally drink alcohol in a pub in the UK?

A 16-year-old can drink a beer, wine or cider with a meal if it is bought by an adult and they are accompanied by an adult. It is illegal for this age group to drink spirits in pubs even with a meal. You must be 18 to legally buy alcohol in a pub, off-license or shop.

  1. To the nearest 10%, how many young people (aged 11-15) in England have drunk alcohol at least once?

40% (actual figure is 44%)

  1. True or False: Most violent crimes happen under the influence of alcohol?

True. The British Medical Association estimates that alcohol is a factor in 60-70% of murders, 75% of stabbings, 70% of beatings and 50% of fights and domestic assaults.

  1. True or False: If a person buys an ecstasy tablet for themselves and one for their friends, they could be charged with supplying a Class A drug. (Bonus: what is the penalty for supplying a Class A drug?)

True. Supply of Class A drugs can result in a lengthy prison sentence.

BONUS: Max sentence for supply of Class A drugs is life, but this would usually only apply to major dealers. Others may get a lengthy sentence.

  1. Do more people die each year from alcohol or from heroin?

Alcohol is now causing more deaths than heroin, speed, cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis combined. 7,697 people died from alcohol-specific causes during 2017, That figure is the highest since 2008.

  1. What is the recommended weekly limit of units of alcohol?

Men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis. Fourteen units is equivalent to six pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine.

 

Cameras, action!

  1. Back in their groups, everyone should use what they have learned from their research and the quiz to prepare a one-minute TV advert, which should warn people about bad habits or advise people on good habits. This should take 45 minutes. Each person in each group should have a role in the advert and each group should make a script so that everyone can learn their lines and what they’re doing.
  1. When about 20 minutes of the time has passed, the person leading the activity should give out the video cameras or devices that record video and audio. Before the time runs out, each group should have recorded their one-minute advert on the camera or device.
  1. Everyone should watch one another’s creations.

Reflection

The groups have done research, a quiz and made adverts about living healthily. Which good habits did you learn more about and what new benefits did you see? Which unhealthy habits did you learn more about and what issues did you see? Why do you think people might pick up unhealthy habits instead of good? What advice would you give to help someone who was having problems as a result of their lifestyle choices?

Lots of charities and other organisations use TV adverts to try and encourage us to ditch our bad habits and pick up the good ones. There are tons of ad campaigns about healthy eating, quitting smoking, drinking less and sleeping well. Aside from making adverts, what else can we do to help more people swap bad habits for good? Which ways of communicating with people are most likely to be heard?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

Phones and cameras

Make sure parents and carers are aware and have given consent for photography.

The quiz in this activity has some straightforward questions and some that are quite difficult! Give hints to help anyone struggling with the facts-and-figures-based questions.

Make sure that there’s a quiet space set up, in case anyone would like to spend some time away from the activity.

Cue cards might be helpful to anyone who gets distracted easily to keep them focused.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Skills Challenge Award
Scouts Entertainer Activity Badge
Scouts Global Issues Activity Badge

The group’s ads may only be the beginning. Encourage everyone to create their own ad campaign (a series of adverts about one theme) that covers all of the subjects that the group researched in the activity. Alternatively, the groups could work together with their existing ads, especially if everyone took on different subjects.

Allow groups to choose the subject of their adverts.