The Fact Lab

Real science, no lectures. Every card has a fact, a thing you can actually try today, and where the fact comes from — so you know it's true.

💧

You are mostly water

About 60% of your body is water. Your brain is even wetter — around 73%. When you don't drink enough, your brain gets tired and grumpy before your body does.

Try this: Keep a bottle where you can see it. Aim for 6-8 cups across the day, more when you're running around.

Source: NHS Eatwell / U.S. Geological Survey water science

🥤

Drinks can be sneaky

One 500ml bottle of fizzy drink can hold around 13 teaspoons of sugar — but it doesn't make you feel full, so your body asks for food anyway.

Try this: Swap one fizzy drink a day for water with a squeeze of lemon or a few frozen berries. Same fun, way less sugar.

Source: NHS Change4Life sugar guidance

⏱️

60 minutes, not 60 straight

Kids need about 60 minutes of moving each day — but it counts in bits. Walking the dog, dancing in your room and playing tag all add up.

Try this: Try 3 x 20 minutes. Morning walk, playtime, evening kick-about. Suddenly the hard number is easy.

Source: World Health Organization physical activity guidelines, 5-17 years

🍽️

The half-plate trick

Filling half your plate with vegetables and fruit means you can still enjoy the rest — you just get more vitamins and fibre with it.

Try this: Build your plate: half colour, a quarter protein (chicken, beans, eggs, fish), a quarter carbs (rice, pasta, potato).

Source: NHS Eatwell Guide

😴

Sleep makes hunger honest

When you sleep less than about 9 hours, your body makes more of the 'I'm hungry' hormone and less of the 'I'm full' one. Tired days really do feel hungrier.

Try this: Screens off 45 minutes before bed. Your brain reads bright screens as daylight and stays awake.

Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 6-12 years: 9-12 hours

💪

Muscle is a quiet engine

Muscle burns energy even when you're sitting still. Building a bit of strength makes everything else — running, climbing, carrying — feel easier.

Try this: Twice a week do push-ups against a wall, squats and a plank. 3 rounds is plenty. No gym needed.

Source: WHO: muscle-strengthening activity 3 days per week for children

🎚️

Hungry or just bored?

Boredom, sadness and stress can feel almost exactly like hunger. It's your brain looking for comfort, not your stomach looking for fuel.

Try this: Wait 10 minutes and drink some water. Still hungry? Eat. Feeling better? It was your mood talking.

Source: NHS mental wellbeing / emotional eating guidance

🍕

No food is 'bad'

Cake isn't evil and broccoli isn't magic. It's how often and how much that shapes your health. Banning a food usually makes you want it more.

Try this: Use 'everyday' and 'sometimes' foods instead of 'good' and 'bad'. Pizza on Friday is a sometimes food. That's allowed.

Source: British Nutrition Foundation, healthy eating for children

📏

You are still being built

Between 9 and 14 most kids grow taller fast. Sometimes your weight arrives before your height does — and then you stretch out.

Try this: Focus on habits, not the scales. Strong, rested and happy beats a number every single time.

Source: NHS child growth and puberty guidance

🌾

Fibre keeps you full

Fibre from beans, oats, fruit and wholemeal bread takes longer to digest, so your tummy stays satisfied for hours instead of minutes.

Try this: Swap white toast for wholemeal, or add a handful of beans to dinner. Small swap, long-lasting fullness.

Source: NHS: fibre in your diet

🎮

Exercise doesn't mean running laps

Your body can't tell the difference between a 'workout' and 20 minutes of dancing, scootering or a water fight. It all builds your heart.

Try this: Pick movement you'd do even if it wasn't healthy. If you enjoy it, you'll keep it.

Source: WHO physical activity guidelines for children and adolescents

🗣️

Talk to yourself like a teammate

Kids who speak kindly to themselves stick with new habits far longer than kids who tell themselves off after a slip.

Try this: Missed a day? Say what you'd say to your best friend: 'That's okay. Tomorrow we go again.'

Source: Research on self-compassion and habit persistence in young people

🥣

Breakfast steadies your day

Eating in the morning helps you concentrate at school and makes big afternoon snack cravings less likely.

Try this: Fastest good breakfast: porridge with fruit, or eggs on wholemeal toast. Two minutes, hours of fuel.

Source: NHS healthy breakfast guidance for children

📱

Screens steal snack awareness

Eating while watching a screen makes people eat more without noticing, because the brain isn't tracking the food.

Try this: Eat at a table, even for snacks. Put the food on a plate so you can see how much there is.

Source: Studies on distracted eating and portion awareness

🫀

Your heart gets stronger fast

After only 4-6 weeks of regular activity your heart pumps more blood per beat, so stairs and running feel noticeably easier.

Try this: Give it six weeks before you judge your progress. That's when your body catches up with your effort.

Source: Exercise physiology: cardiovascular adaptation in youth

🤝

Teams beat solo missions

People are much more likely to keep a habit when someone else knows about it or does it with them.

Try this: Tell one person your goal — a parent, sibling or friend — and ask them to check in each week.

Source: Behavioural science: accountability and habit formation