Slimming club offers NHS lower cost obesity solution

Citation

(2008), "Slimming club offers NHS lower cost obesity solution", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 38 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2008.01738bab.002

Slimming club offers NHS lower cost obesity solution

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition

Sir Derek Wanless' report about NHS funding commissioned by the King's Fund, reveals that rising numbers of obese and overweight men, women and children equate to rising costs to the NHS.

Slimming World, with a network of 5,500 groups led by local, community-based consultants across Britain, offers a referral scheme that provides a cost-effective alternative to anti-obesity drug therapy and surgery. In his report published on 9 September Sir Derek says the good schemes already in place tended to be locally-based and on a small scale. Patients taking part in the Slimming World on Referral scheme are offered vouchers for 12 weeks, equivalent to a three month course of drugs. The costs to the PCT are about one third of the equivalent course of anti-obesity drugs. However, only a small number of PCTs across England, including Bristol, Slough, Suffolk, Newham, Sunderland and Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale have signed up for the Slimming World on Referral scheme.

Recent data from Slimming World shows that of nearly 2,000 Slimming World on Referral participants to date 64.1 per cent completed at least ten out of 12 weeks of treatment, with an average weight loss of 5.67kg (equivalent to 5.50 per cent of starting body weight) and 668 (or 34 ) were considered clinically obese with a starting BMI of 40+.

For further information please contact Jenny Cave: Tel.: 01773 546037.