By Charlotte Webster-
About 2,600 people will be given a free 12-week slimming course to address obesity in Norfolk.
The move follows concerns that in Norfolk, 216,000 adults are obese, and the number is expected to reach 245,000 by 2020.
Statistics show that in Norfolk, there are 475,000 adults who are overweight or obese.
The scheme, which will cost around £170,000, is aimed at preventing rises in diabetes, strokes, and heart disease, all of which are known to easily follow from obesity. This move is commendable and really should be extended across the UK. Leaders of various county’s abroad should also take this good idea and apply it in their respective communities.
Initiated by Norfolk County Council, the Slimming World courses will remarkably change the lives of those who participate in it.
Patients will be required to get a referral from their GP, and must have a body mass index of more than 30 to qualify for the slimming world course.
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Dr Louise Smith, director of public health at Norfolk Council, told the eye of media.com that research shows the benefits of working in groups , when combined with healthy eating, is as effective as intensive one to one sessions.
“Working in groups makes a massive difference,” Dr Smith said. “Sometimes people feel the mountain they have is too high to climb, but that psychological problem is alleviated when working towards the same goal as others in a group. The message is that if you join a group and make small changes in your daily life then over three months you will lose half a stone, which can reduce the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure,”Dr Smith said the aim is to Dr.Smith told the eye of media.com.
The one weakness of the scheme is that it only caters for those in the age bracket of 40-75, seemingly ignoring younger people who are obese. ”We have to start somewhere, Dr.Smith explained. I’m sure it will eventually extend to people of all ages”. That extension is important because there are many young people who are obese, and the concentration of a scheme on those in the older bracket, though commendable, is just not good enough.
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The eye of media.com will be keeping tabs on developments in this scheme, which at least is a good start.
The scheme will include patients in south, north, and all of central Norfolk (including Norwich), with King’s Lynn and Great Yarmouth to join the scheme, after health leaders there too put in for inclusion in the positive scheme.
Asked what the message was to obese patients outside the ages between 40-75 who still face paying for using slimming services, Dr Smith said: “Slimming World is in every town and village so I hope they can try to find the money – it only costs around £5-£10 per week, so that is the same price as a bottle of wine.”
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