Steven Gerrard backs ‘Get Up, Get Moving’ campaign to tackle obesity
Steven Gerrard is supporting the ‘Get Up, Get Moving’ campaign by the Zesh Rehman Foundation and Liverpool FC Foundation, which aims to tackle obesity.
The project is being piloted at Shorefields secondary school in Liverpool, following two small pilot studies in Manchester.
The project is headed up by Liverpool's first-team doctor, Dr Zaf Iqbal and Irfan Kawri, the Zesh Rehman Foundation's north-west coordinator.
Iqbal said: "It's very important. If we just look at current figures, every day we read in newspapers about the increasing rates of obesity and this, unfortunately, is going to cause massive problems in the future.
"I've been involved in promoting physical activity in various community groups over the last eight years. I heard about the Zesh Rehman foundation and they then made contact with me. Together, we came up with this project - and because I am working at Liverpool Football Club, we thought it would be a good idea to use the power of LFC to add to the message we are trying to get across.
"It's absolutely fantastic to have someone like Steven Gerrard become the ambassador for the project. He's got kids himself and as a sportsman, he's aware of the importance of healthy eating. To have his profile attached to this message is fantastic."