We support families with children 0-5 years old to make healthier lifestyle choices through a whole family approach with the aim of preventing overweight and obesity and improving physical and mental wellbeing.

Our team consists of a Registered Nutritionist, an Associate Nutritionist, a Community Nurse and a Healthy Weight Practitioner and works alongside the Brent Health Visiting service.

The Brent Health4Life Nutrition team deliver a variety of nutrition focused workshops and other group sessions across family wellbeing centres in Brent. These sessions aim to increase awareness around what it takes to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Our sessions include practical Cook & Eat sessions and interactive discussions on healthy eating and physical activity. Our team also offer sessions to support with introduction to solids.

In the UK, it is recommended to start introducing solid foods to your baby at around six months of age.  Providing your baby a variety of healthy foods alongside breast or formula milk will help set your child up for a lifetime of healthier eating.

Gradually, you will be able to increase the amount and variety of food your baby eats  until they are eating the same foods as the rest of the family, in smaller portions.

Introducing solids to your baby is a new experience for yourself and baby and can be an exciting time but knowing where to start can sometimes be a little challenging.

Our Brent Health4Life team are here to help you get off to the best start by offering both online and face to face 'Introduction to Solids' sessions on which foods are best to first introduce, how to introduce them and why it is important to create a healthy eating environment.

All face-face sessions are run within all family wellbeing centres in Brent and our online sessions run once a month through Microsoft Teams.

To attend, please register at one of the family wellbeing centres using the link below and simply drop-in to one of our sessions

https://www.brent.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/support-for-parents-and-families/family-wellbeing-centres

For online sessions, please email the team at clcht.BrentHealth4Life@nhs.net

See our timetable below:

Useful resources:

A collection of nutrition/healthy lifestyle workshops covering the basics of what, when and how much to eat as well as focusing on the below topics. All of which are important to consider when working towards a healthier lifestyle for you and your family.

  • Eating Well -The Eatwell Guide & Portion Sizes (Including Regular Meal Patterns)

This workshop will discuss both the Eatwell Guide and the 5532 portion guide to help you provide young children with a healthy, balanced diet and provide them with all the nutrients they need to grow and be healthy.

  • Cook & Eat (Cost-effective Recipes, Healthy Lunches & Cooking Methods)

A practical workshop where you will have the chance to cook a healthy, cost-effective meal for you and your family. During this workshop, we discuss a variety of topics including healthier cooking methods, cooking oils, and chopping styles. At the end of the session, the group get to sample the dish they have made.

  • Reading Food Labels & Healthier Snacking

This workshop will help you determine if a food item is high in fat, sugar or salt. We will scan food items and discover hidden words for sugars as well as discuss healthier snack options

  • Fussy Eating, Mindful Eating & Screentime

Is your child a fussy eater? We will share what fussy eating is and share useful tips on how we can best manage it

  • Physical Activity, Sleep, Hydration & Oral health (Including Guest Speaker)

We will discuss how you and your child can be active and why it is important to be active in the early years. We will also have a guest speaker from Oral Health come in and discuss how to best look after those first teeth to ensure good oral hygiene.

See below for more information on sessions

To attend, please register at one of the family wellbeing centres using the link below and simply drop-in to one of our sessions: https://www.brent.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/support-for-parents-and-families/family-wellbeing-centres​​

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be eligible for the Healthy Start scheme

You need to be claiming certain benefits to qualify and the scheme can help you to buy the following:

  • plain liquid cow’s milk
  • fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
  • fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
  • infant formula milk based on cow’s milk

If you’re pregnant and under 18 you can claim even if you do not receive any benefits.

Healthy Start Vitamins are also available, please ask your Health Visitor or local Family Wellbeing Centre. You do not need to be claiming benefits to receive these.

How to apply

For more information or to apply, visit the NHS Healthy Start website.

To attend any of our sessions, please contact your Health Visitor, local family wellbeing centre or alternatively you can contact the Brent Heath4Life Nutrition Team via their generic email: clcht.brenthealth4life@nhs.net

Opening hours 9-5pm Monday –Friday. Our team will aim to get back to you within 24 hours.

Additionally, please follow us on our Instagram page. Scan our QR code below to add us:

First steps Nutrition Trust | https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/

British Nutrition Foundation | https://www.nutrition.org.uk/

Infant Feeding in Brent | https://clch.nhs.uk/services/new-baby-and-parent-resources/infant-feeding-services/breast-feeding-brent

Better Health https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/

Healthy Start | https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/

BBC Tiny Happy People | https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people

To refer to the Brent Healthy Weight Team, please contact your school nurse or alternatively you can contact the team via their generic email: clcht.brenthealth4life@nhs.net

Parental consent to the referral is required. 

  • Families with children between 0-5 years old
  • Children living in the Borough of Brent
  • Registration with a West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) GP
  • To register with the 0-5 Brent Health Visiting Service, please contact Brent SPA on 0208 102 4900  

  • Adults and children over the age of 5
  • Children with co-morbidities or complex needs to be referred to the CLCH Dietetic service.
  • Not registered with a West London CCG GP

This service is currently only available online until further notice.

Service opening times:

Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm