OVERWEIGHT children in Selby and Ryedale will be singled out for lessons with a fitness instructor and nutritionist as part of a new campaign to tackle rising obesity levels.

The new campaign, called Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it (MEND), is part of an action plan drawn up by local health chiefs, following the shock revelation that people living in Yorkshire and the Humber are getting fatter quicker than in any other region in the country.

Statisticians have predicted that if no action is taken, 70 per cent of people living in this region could be obese by 2050.

Bosses at North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) are putting together a strategy to address the problem.

Rachel Johns, associate director of public health at the PCT, said: "York and North Yorkshire are usually on the healthier side of the regional average because we have a rural and slightly more affluent population.

"However, we have good reason to be concerned about obesity here and we have a lot of work to do."

MEND is to target obese children aged between seven and 13 living in the Selby and Ryedale areas.

It is a family-based healthy lifestyle programme, involving a mixture of physical activity sessions and nutrition sessions, which will run over nine weeks.

Katie Needham, the PCT's health improvement principal, said: "This is a really exciting project. We will be working with schools and GPs to refer children and their families onto the programme.

"Families who feel they can benefit from the programme can also refer themselves."

MEND will be launched at Barlby High School and Selby High School on February 18, and is set to be rolled out into the Ryedale area in April.

The PCT is also drawing up an obesity prevention and weight management strategy, which aims to identify problem areas in North Yorkshire.

Ms Needham said: "We have recorded the height and weight of every child in reception and Year 6 and we hope these figures will be available in April.

"They will help us to highlight what we need to be doing to monitor, prevent and treat obesity in children and adults."

Fact sheets on physical activity and healthy eating can be found in a "Staying Healthy" section of the PCT's website at www.nyypct.nhs.uk.