The game was conceived by Dr Lakshman, a paediatrician and public health doctor. She realised that children are keen to learn the facts on different cards in the popular card game 'Top Trumps’® and used this to design a fun way to teach them about the nutritional content of different foods. When children compare foods and understand food labelling, they can make healthy choices. She shared her idea with Health Enterprise East (HEE), the NHS innovation hub for the East of England (www.hee.org.uk) who took the idea forward and developed the cards. Nutritional expertise was provided by Dr Susan Jebb and her team at the Medical Research Council- Human Nutrition Research Unit, Cambridge.

A number of specialists helped in the development - see Acknowledgements

The foods chosen in this game reflect some of the favourite choices of boys and girls of primary school age. In addition to these foods other healthier alternatives have been included. All nutritional values are per 100gm of the food and are taken from the McCance & Widdowson’s 'The Composition of Foods’, 6th Edition, compiled by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The red, amber and green dots on the cards are based on the FSAs nutrient profiling model. This is similar to the ‘traffic light’ information used by food manufacturers on their packaging.  Top Grub helps to make children aware of these symbols so they know what to look for when comparing different foods.

An Award Winning Game

“Top Grub” has been highly commended.  Dr Lakshman was awarded top prizes in both the 2007 National NHS Innovations Competition and the NHS East of England 2008 Health and Social Care Awards. 

Links