Eli Lilly and Company and Slimming World provided sponsorship funding to support the creation of the ICS Weight Management Services Hub and have had no input into the organisation or content of this website.
Case Studies
London - Richmond
Local Initiatives
Men and women aged 30 to 60 living in Richmond upon Thames and who are overweight are invited to join a 12-week weight management programme delivered by Brentford FC Community Sports Trust in partnership with Richmond Council and Public Health. The Move it to Lose it programme includes coaching by Brentford FC players and coaching staff, nutrition and fitness workshops, free sports t-shirts and one month’s free fitness pass upon completion of the course.
Richmond also used the COM-B model to influence behaviour change, encouraging residents to get physically active through initiviatives such as: The Conservation Volunteers Green Gym, Active Women and Girls Foundation, Tag Parkour, Voices of Hope.
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South East - Oxfordshire
Local Initiatives
Oxfordshire Food Strategy: In Oxfordshire there is now a commitment by 40 organisations across the county to a food poverty action plan 51, to address and reduce food poverty and food insecurity. It includes recommendations for councils, local decision-makers, institutions, communities and individuals on how to make a difference. The family healthy weight service: Gloji Energy is a new child weight management programme run by Achieve Oxfordshire. The new service is designed to help get the whole family moving and making healthier lifestyle choices.
You Move: Active Oxfordshire co-ordinate the initiative, working with all the Oxfordshire district councils and wider partners to ensure a broad range of activities are on offer, including subsidised leisure and activities.
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London - Redbridge
Local Initiatives
The NELFT Healthy Eating team has introduced group sessions for children and their parents or carers to raise awareness around the importance of healthy eating and maintaining a healthy weight. They discuss strategies that families might be able to adopt to improve their general health within a welcoming, non-judging environment. Our leisure provider offers a range of activities that families can participate in which are fun and low cost, which is especially important at a time where the cost-of-living crisis is affecting more of our residents.
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South East - Medway
Local Initiatives
The public health service offers a number of bespoke opportunities and interventions for local people tailored to their needs, which include: • Wellbeing Walks. • Free swimming for under 16’s and over 65’s. • Nordic Walking, including specialist walks for people with Parkinson’s Disease • Cycling groups. • Man vs Fat – football for men where both goal scoring and weight loss impact a team’s performance. • Walk in the Park – using outdoor gym equipment. • Let’s Get Active - classes for people with underlying health conditions. • Active Medway community projects – establishing activity sessions in sedentary groups (e.g., for people living in purpose-built accommodation that provides different levels of care and support to help people remain independent, working with voluntary sector). • Small Steps, Big Changes – for people with long term conditions. • Active Referrals – specialist programme for people with long term conditions.
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South East - Hampshire
Local Initiatives
The Hampshire Planning and Public Health Position Statement16 supports a collaborative response to improving the health and wellbeing of residents, providing a framework for creating healthy living environments through local plans, developments and planning applications. Some District Councils are using a whole system approach within their planning policies and plans to ensure wellbeing is reflected in their designs and community infrastructure, meeting the current and future needs of their communities.
Links:
Let's not wait! Enabling Hampshire's Children to be a Healthy Weight
London - Islington
Local Initiatives
The Healthy Living Service forms part of the School Nursing offer and provides one-to-one weight management support for young people.
An Enhanced Healthy Living Service supports young people with complex cases through bringing together a variety of professionals and taking a psychologically informed approach. This is coordinated by The Brandon Centre.
University College London Hospital (UCLH) offers a range of adolescent services, which includes specialist treatment for weight management.
Links:
Islington Annual Public Health Report 2023/24: Young People's Health and Wellbeing
North East - Durham
Local Initiatives
As part of our work to help people live at a healthy weight, we now offer training for food businesses so they can offer more healthy options on their menus. It is called the Healthy Options Takeaways (HOT) Masterclass.
The Childhood Healthy Weight Pathway was introduced in County Durham in 2019 and Healthy Weight Strategic Framework in 2022.
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North East - Newcastle
Local Initiatives
Walking, wheeling and cycling can often be more convenient and affordable, but we know there are barriers preventing children and young people engaging in active travel. Only 3% of children surveyed in our most recent HRBQ travelled to school by bike and nearly 1 in 3 (30%) went by car. There are a range of programmes underway to expand opportunities for active travel, including the School Streets programme and Bikeability, a cycling training programme which delivered bike training sessions to 4,571 pupils during the last financial year.
The settings where children spend their time is also important. Our Healthy Schools Programme aims to support children in developing healthy habits so that they can live healthy, active lives and make positive contributions to society and the environment. The provision of healthy food and drink and implementing active travel initiatives such as walking and cycling to school are key features of the award.
Access to affordable and accessible opportunities for physical activity helps young people to stay active, make friends and develop lifelong passions. Physical activity is more than just formal sport - like being part of a football or netball team. It is also informal opportunities for play and physical activity that exist within a community – in playgrounds, community centres and schools. To support this a range of initiatives are underway.
The Better Health at Work Award scheme helps businesses to increase physical activity among staff – there are currently over 60 organisations in Newcastle engaged in the award. By adjusting organisational culture and policies, for example, encouraging walking meetings, standing desks, and developing or improving active travel facilities, organisations can empower employees with the knowledge and mandate to incorporate PA into their daily routines at work
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South West - Devon
Local Initiatives
Connecting Actively to Nature Programme: This programme is managed by Active Devon using funding from Sport England and supported by the Devon Local Nature Partnership. It was initially a five-year programme targeting individuals aged 55+ who are experiencing changing family structures, isolation, retirement and/or increased caring responsibilities and helps them to discover the combined physical and psychological benefits of activity in nature. The programme sought to provide opportunities for people who were taking their first steps into activity.
Links:
Annual Public Health Report 2023-24: Health in An Ageing Devon - Devon Health and Wellbeing
East Midlands - Nottingham
Local Initiatives
In Nottingham there is a MAN v FAT Football club and the public health team have commissioned MAN v FAT Football as a free health programme for men to access since January 2024. Whilst initially labelled as a Tier 2 men’s weight management programme it is actually so much more than that for its participants. Under the now commissioned service Nottingham residents can access 14 weeks’ worth of support at MAN v FAT Football. After that time they can continue to access the service for £35 per month, with around 70% opting to continue to invest in their own health because of the physical, mental and social benefits that it brings for them.
Gloji Energy is a tier 2 intervention that runs as a 12-week programme, encouraging the participation of the whole family. Sessions are held at community venues such as trampoline parks, leisure centres, and youth clubs. Eligibility requires that at least one child in the family is above a healthy weight.The programme begins with a discovery call to establish baseline metrics, followed by a 1:1 session with a coach to build rapport. The next 10 weeks consist of group facilitation in a supportive, safe environment, concluding with a final 1:1 session to assess the intervention’s impact. Children engage in 45 minutes of physical activity, while parents and carers participate in workshops focusing on various health-related topics. A collaborative activity between children and adults is conducted towards the end of each session. Weekly "missions" (SMART goals) are set to foster goal setting and self-monitoring. Incentives like water bottles, pedometers, and sleep masks are provided to motivate attendance.